Another Love Story
by LiteracyLover
Summary: Maybe if I was better, I would be able to love him back. Maybe if I had more free time, I could see her more often. Will love ensue for this unlikely couple, The Farmer and the Patient?
1. Chapter 1

**LiteracyLover, with a story for you guys. I write stories of everybody who is under-appreciated, like Felicity, who is one of the main characters in this work of fiction.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory or anything from it.**

**Chapter 1: A new neighbor.**

I had heard from Lara, my best friend, that there was a new person in town. She told me it was a boy, and he looked very handsome, too. I laughed at what she had said; Lara was just in the mood for gossip at that time. I wanted to see him tough; he sounded very nice. Lara told me that he had brown hair, blue eyes and was working in Mist's old farm. I hoped that he would start a family in this small town and live in harmony with the land.

At about eight-thirty, I left to Neumann's store. As I was leaving, I was about to remind my father to have his breakfast, when that terrible coughing began again. My illness was unique; it was totally unknown to anybody. Doctor Edward and Lara were working hard to find a cure for over a year now, but I was losing hope. The pain in my throat worsened, as my father came running into the room. He immediately gave me some warm water, but I refused it, the pain was gone by now. He looked at me with his tired old eyes, my father, the mayor of Kardia, Mayor Godwin, who I had tried to follow from my birth.

"Felicity, my dear, are you alright?" he asked, anxiously.

"Yes, Papa, I am fine. Please don't worry over me…I will be fine." I said.

"You should see Doctor Edward..." he began. I felt irritated.

"Papa, I am fine. I will go see the Doctor later. Please eat your breakfast, I made pancakes." I said this and quickly left the house, not wanting to be smothered in my father's loving care for his daughter. I walked over to the store, enjoying the cool breeze of spring and the beautiful cherry blossoms that grew all over our little town. I ran into the store, panting slightly. He welcomed me, and I saw that Nicholas had come to visit. He was at the back, taking care of the many cockadoodles he had tamed. I stood behind the counter; maybe that new boy would come by. Nicholas ran to the back, laughing. He was Neumann's son, although he did not know that. I felt sorry for him. A little while later, the little half-elf, Cecilia, came looking for him.

"Felicity, where's Nicholas?" asked Cecilia.

"He is in the back. I'll go get him for you." I said, glad for the little movement possible. I ran to the back and called to Nicholas.

"Nicholas, Cecilia is looking for you." I said.

"Oh, OK. Maybe we could go play tag." said the little boy, enthusiastically. He ran out. I saw Neumann's eyes on his son. He then looked up at me.

"Felicity, I need to get some tools from the shed, will you make sure nothing wild happens in here?" he asked in his deep voice.

"Of course." I said. He smiled and left me alone with the hundred odd monsters in the one huge barn. I looked around, nothing interested me in here. I idly played with a young chick, when I heard a voice coming from the main store. It was the new boy! But I could not go; Neumann had asked me to stay. Neumann went over to the new boy, and his booming laugh was heard. The new boy laughed too, a notion which sent shivers of shock down my spine. He spoke to Neumann for a while and then left. By now I was ready to kill Neumann. He had better come in here now! Thankfully he did.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." he said. I was fuming inside.

"Who was that?" I asked in my best casual voice, knowing very well who it was.

"It was that new kid who moved into town, Raguna was his name." he said, looking at me with one eyebrow raised. His look made me blush. He began to laugh.

"Stop it, Neumann, it's nothing like that!" I said, feeling the hot blush that crept up my cheeks. He just continued to laugh, but I paid no notice. I just left the hut, wishing that the red tint on my cheeks would leave. I didn't even know this person, for god's sake! He was just a person who had come to our town. That was all. I calmed myself down, hoping that he would come by again. Sadly, I waited the entire day, he did not come. I left the store at six, bidding farewell to Neumann. I went back to my house, knowing that either Lara or Doctor Edward would be there, due to my coughing fit this morning. It was, unfortunately, my nurse friend Lara. She glared at me, and then dragged me up to my room. I tried to pull away, but I was just too weak, and also Lara was really strong for a girl. She pulled me up to my room and put me on the bed.

"THAT'S IT! No work for you tomorrow!" she yelled, her pink hair flying in tune with her voice. "Tomorrow, do not even DARE going near Neumann's house, or even think about it!" her usually calm tone was filled with anger.

"Lala…please calm down…" I said. "I won't go to work tomorrow, if that makes you fell better…" I really shouldn't have said that.

"Felicity, this is for _your_ good health, not to make _me_ feel better!" Lara said. "Please, please be careful, Feli…I worry." I could see that she was on the verge of crying, so I assured her that I would stay in the house, only going out to the park for fresh air. She frowned a little, but agreed. She soon left, leaving me alone I my room. I extinguished the fire in my lamp and fell asleep.

T**hank you for reading! I hope you liked the story. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory or anything from it.**

**Chapter 2: Love at first sight.**

I woke up early in the morning and went to water the crops in my messy field. I also had to clear up the various stumps, branches, rocks and boulders in my fields. I went at it for a long time, finishing only at about 5:30 pm. I decided to go to that beautiful park which I had seen yesterday. I crossed the three streets and finally reached the park. It was beautiful, no doubt about that. I saw the gently swaying trees, the chirruping birds and the dainty flowers which grew in abundance. But as I turned a corner, I saw something which made my heart skip a few beats.

She was so beautiful, yet so sickly that my heart seemed to stop with the sadness of it. She was like a fragile rose in a raging storm, trying to hold on to the branch which gave it life. She was a deathly pale, and her body was weak and fragile. She stood straight, her green eyes looking at all the flowers with joy. She touched them gently. I felt a warm blush spread across my face. I had to know her name. I walked up to her. She heard the sound of my footsteps and looked up into my eyes. I lost myself in her deep green eyes. She spoke in a weak, irresistible voice.

"Good afternoon, my name is Felicity. I am the Mayor's daughter." she smiled at me. "You must be the boy who moved into Mist's old farm! A pleasure to meet you."

"M-my name is Raguna. I am pleased to meet you as well." I stammered. She continued to smile at me. She then looked at the flowers in front of her.

"Raguna, you are a farmer, am I right?" asked Felicity.

"Yes, I am."

"Do you see these flowers?" she said, pointing to the yellow flowers before her. I tore my gaze from her face to look at them. They were very pretty, but nothing to match her beauty. "They are called Moondrop flowers. They grow only at night, when the moon is brightest. Maybe you should grow some." she continued. "They are very beautiful, no?" she asked, looking up at me. She faltered at the intensity of my gaze, a blush forming on her weak, pretty face. She hesitantly looked at me before stammering that she needed to go to her house.

I watched her go, the beautiful rose. I had to make her mine. I had to impress her somehow. I looked at my watch. It was a minute to six. I ran to the general store, just in time to see Rosetta coming back from her rounds.

"Rosetta! Is the shop still open?" I panted.

"Calm down! And a real close call, Raguna. We are still open." she said. I ran inside and demanded a packet of Moondrop seeds for my farm from Jean. He gave it to me and I quickly paid him and ran to my farm. I quickly planted them and watered them. By the time I fell asleep, it was 7:30. I did not have any dinner, because my stomach was full of butterflies.

Maybe that was because I was in love.

**Sorry if the chapter was short. Long chapters coming up, I promise! T****hank you for reading! Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory or anything from it.**

**Chapter 3: Flowers, Kisses and Sleepless Nights.**

Five days had passed since I had met Raguna. He came to the park regularly. He was very kind to me. He took care of me when I broke into my coughing fits. We had become good friends.

But I wanted to be more than good friends. It was selfish of me, truth be told, but I loved him. I was not the only one; I had caught Lara muttering his name under her breath a few days ago. I had teased her terribly, but I began to feel a bit jealous. I loved him, and I wanted him. He looked at me as a friend of the opposite gender; I looked at him as a lover. I wanted to tell him about my feelings, but I felt shy every time I looked at his face. I went to the park, my heart in my feet, and it was pounding of the thought of him there next to me. As I entered the park, I saw him there, waiting for me. My heart leaped as I walked towards him.

He smiled at me, his blue eyes shining. He looked at the flowers in front of him.

"You told me you liked Moondrop flowers." he said in his sweet, gentle voice.

"Yes, I did." I said, wondering what he was getting at.

"You also told me that picking them was a wrong thing to do."

"Yes, I did."

"So, I grew one for you, in my farm." he said, giving me a Moondrop flower. I blushed slightly. I looked at his face. He, too, was blushing slightly. Did this mean that he liked me? My heart fluttered slightly as he put the flower in my hair. He then held my hand. His touch was so soft and…warm. I looked at the flowers in front of me, to avoid looking at his face. How long we stood there, hand in hand, I had no idea. But when he called my name, I looked up and saw his face, and the background was dark.

"It's really late." he said. I looked at my watch. It was about 6:30.

"I should go back home." I said. "Papa will worry about me."

"Well, then I'll go, too." he said. He then leaned close to me and kissed me on my cheek. I felt the warmth of his kiss and of myself blushing. He smiled at me, a rather red tint forming on his own cheeks. He bade my good night.

"Good night, Felicity." he said. I could not speak, so I just nodded. "I'll drop you off home." he said. I finally found my voice.

"T-that's alright…I-I will be fine…" I stammered. He just laughed. He began to walk me to my home, and we were still holding hands. When the short walk was over, he let go of my hand and smiled at me. I smiled back. He then left, waving merrily. I watched him go, until I saw the last of his back. I ran back inside. My father was there, looking worried. He saw me and pulled me into a hug that took the breath out of my lungs. I began to cough again, and he left me, looking at me anxiously. I smiled at him and told him nothing was wrong. I told him good night and ran to my room. I sat on my bed, unable to sleep, the softness of his kiss still burning my cheek. I looked out of my window and saw a shooting star. I wished three times that he loved me, and that he would be mine forever. I then pulled the blankets over myself, closing my eyes tightly and trying to get some sleep.

**~*~**

I walked a bit towards my house, then, when I was convinced that she could not see me anymore, I broke into a run. I went into my house and began pacing restlessly. I could not sleep. I could still taste the sweetness of her cheek in my mouth, and it was driving me crazy. I stopped pacing, and looked out of the window. I saw a shooting star, and I wished that she would love me, and be mine forever. I paced till midnight, and then tried to get some sleep. I think I slept only at 1 am that day.

**A/N: Aww…they are in love now! How cute! I hope you guys did not get confused with the change of viewpoint. Thanks, Review pleeeease! It motivates me to write more!  
**

**-LiteracyLover.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 4: Faint, fair maiden.**

I woke up the next morning, and went to clear up and plough the fields. I did not feel groggy, so I was able to do quite a bit on my farm. Mist came at about noon to see how I was doing with the farm.

"You have ploughed more than 100 squares of land, Raguna!" she said, angrily. "You should have got a pass from the Mayor ages ago! Now, go, get a pass to Carmite Cave from Mayor Godwin!" I quickly finished what I was doing and ran to the Mayor's house. I knocked on the door. My heart skipped a few beats when Felicity opened the door. She opened the door with some difficulty, and then blushed when she saw me. I smiled at her.

"Oh, come in, Raguna…do you want to meet my father?" she asked.

"Yes." I replied. Her face fell slightly, but she showed me to his office. He was reading something when we entered, and looked up when he saw Felicity and I. He smiled at us.

"Papa, Raguna wants to tell you something." she said, softy. Her voice made me want to kiss her again. I suddenly shook myself out of my dream. I had to focus.

"Oh, really? Well, young man, tell me what it is?" he asked. When Felicity turned to leave, he told her to wait. I looked straight into his eyes.

"Mayor Godwin, I have ploughed more than a hundred squares of land in my field." I said. I saw Felicity's green eyes grow wide, from her position behind her father.

I looked at the mayor, who opened a drawer from his desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment with a lot of official words on it. He signed the parchment and stamped it with the official stamp of Kardia. He then gave it to me, saying, "Well, well! Congratulations, my dear boy! But I would advise you not to spend all your time in the caves. It would be best for you to get used to this place and build a family." I blushed and I saw Felicity blush, too. He noticed me blushing and laughed.

I accepted the parchment and left, but I could have sworn that I saw tears in Felicity's eyes. I could not ask her what was wrong, as her father had shooed me out. I left, feeling rather anxious. I went to my farm and saw Mist, who was very happy at my achievement. She gave me a spell book, which would transport me to the entrance of the cave in a flash. She also told me that climate never changes in caves. I thanked her, packed up some strawberry seeds which I had been planning to sow, some medicinal herbs and antidotal herbs and then ran to Leo's and bought a sword. I then went southwards of my farm, to Carmite Cave.

**~*~**

I saw him go towards the entrance of Carmite Cave. I ran towards him, feeling my head getting light. I ignored it and called out to him, slumping onto the ground a few feet behind him.

"Raguna!" I gasped. He turned around, and saw me. His eyes widened with fear and horror.

"Felicity! Felicity, are you alright?" he asked anxiously. I was about to say that I was fine, but right then I collapsed into one of my coughing fits. My throat throbbed, and I felt Raguna's hands massaging my throat. I pushed them away, the pain unbearable now. I managed to control it to say a few words.

"Raguna…be careful…it's dangerous in caves…please…I …care about you." My chest felt like exploding now. The last thing I saw was Raguna's face, shockingly close to mine as he picked me up. Then everything went blank.

**~*~**

It was not very interesting in the hospital, where I worked. The doctor would be busy reading, leaving me to do all the other work, like setting the beds and cleaning the place up. Sometimes, I think he uses me.

As I was sweeping the floor, grumbling away in my head, I heard someone barge in.

"Lara!"

I looked up. I was Raguna, carrying my best friend, Felicity, in his arms. Her long, brown hair almost touched the floor and she had fainted. I dropped the broom I was holding, yelling to the Doc. I told him to get her on a bed. As he did so, I saw how gently he did so. Did Raguna like her? I shook those thoughts out of my head as I concentrated on my job. I checked her for a temperature and her pulse. It was dangerously slow.

"Doc! Get the strongest thing you've got for a fainted!" I yelled. I heard him searching in a shelf and he came over and gave me the bottle as he saw the notes I had taken. I gave the liquid medicine to my best friend and then waited for sometime. It had to work, please, the Doc was a really smart man and Felicity just could _not_ die, please, _please _be okay…

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw my caring mentor, the doctor, looking at me. Raguna was next to Felicity. She was motionless.

******Me: BTW Lara, Doctor...something is up...I know it.**

******Lara: No duh, You are the author of the story.**

******Me: Oh, yeah...sorry. Anyway, please review! Thank you to all those who read and reviewed it already!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 5: Green-faced.**

We held Felicity's funeral the very next day. She was to be buried in our humble town of Kardia. My father, the Pope of this town, was going to send her off. He knew that I was her best friend, so he told me that I did not need to help him. I was grateful that he was so kind to me. I braced myself for when they would bring her in, knowing that it would be painful.

But when they brought Felicity's body and when I saw her peaceful and gentle face, the pain I felt was a lot more than what I had readied myself for. I shut my eyes and squeezed Rosetta's hand. She grabbed onto my hand, making sure I would not do anything stupid.

It was agonizing, to see your best friend go away from you like that, and to know that it was your entire fault. Tears began to leak out from my eyes. I wrenched away from Rosetta's grip and ran to out of my house, to the park in which she went, every single day. I sat on the bench that she sat on, and covered my face. Silent tears ran down my face. I saw somebody approaching, and felt somebody's arm around me. I looked up and saw Raguna next to me. I put my head on his shoulder and began to cry in earnest. My hands were on his lap, and I felt his warm hand on mine.

I cried for a very long time, and I did not stop. When my tears began to fall harder and faster, he called out to me.

"Lara." he said, in his sweet and gentle voice. I slowly stopped crying. I looked up at him. He put one hand on my cheek and began to inch closer to me.

"Lara!!" somebody shouted.

I tore open my eyes and sat up on my bed. I saw my father looking at me anxiously.

"Are you all right? You've been shouting in your sleep…" he said.

_It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a stupid dream...damn it._

I hugged my father and he patted my head. I then fully registered what he said.

"Papa…" I began. "What exactly was I saying?" I asked, hoping to every god that I did not say anything embarrassing. A thoughtful look passed on my father's face.

"I think you said…'No, no, no!' or something, before you suddenly fell silent and began to mumble something…why do you ask?" he said, looking at me in a curious way. I shooed him out of my room.

"Um…because talking in your sleep might be an act of post-trauma stress or something…" I said, cobbling up a total lie. Well, it wasn't a total lie, it was a bit true. He smiled and left. I quickly changed and ran to the Clinic. I knocked on the door and was utterly shocked when a sleepy looking Raguna opened the door. I blushed slightly.

"Oh, hey, Lara…" he yawned. "What are you doing in the Clinic so early in the morning?" I turned red. "Um…Because I wanted to check on Felicity?" I said, walking inside. I saw Felicity, in the same way as we left her. I sat down next to her and took her hand, in the pretext of taking her pulse, when Raguna spoke again.

"It's okay, she woke up at about one this morning, and Doctor Edward gave her a shot, she's been sleeping for a long time now…" he said. Relief flooded through my entire body. I put her hand down; there was no need to check for her pulse now. I then turned my attention to Raguna, who was almost asleep.

"Raguna, you had better go back home and get some sleep. Were you here all night?" I asked. He backed away slowly.

"Yeah…" his voice trailed off. Sudden anger flooded through me. He had not got any sleep last night just to see Felicity? I took a deep breath.

"OUT! NOW!" I bellowed, causing Felicity to wake up from her peaceful sleep. "Oh, sorry, Feli…"

~*~

I saw Raguna being chased out by a furious Lara, and I could not help laughing. She apologized for waking me, and took my temperature.

"A slight fever, nothing a day's rest can't take care of…" she said. I groaned inwardly. Lara then became all business.

"OK, so what happened?" she said, giving me a glare. My heart skipped a few beats. I could not tell her that I went after Raguna, she would laugh at me.

"N-Nothing…" I said. Her glare intensified.

"Nothing? Nothing was that you over-pressurized yourself again. Nothing was that you almost died? Nothing was that you are going to be bedridden for the next week?!" said Lara, tears forming in her eyes. I began to feel a bit guilty. I apologized to my best friend quickly. She wiped away her tears and glared at me for sometime.

"Do not get out of your bed for the next week." she said. I nodded.

"Do not do what you did last night ever again." I nodded.

"Do not over-pressurize yourself again." I nodded.

"And reply to my orders. You have a mouth." she finished, and we both began to laugh. She stood up and began to work, explaining the use of everything to me. I nodded politely, but I just let the words fly through my head. I concentrated on what had happened last night, when I woke up.

_"Felicity!" Raguna had cried, hugging me. I had turned a brilliant shade of red. The Doctor just smiled. He asked me what happened, and I did not reply. Knowing that I would not tell him, he sighed and gave me a shot. Whenever I get a shot, I faint. As darkness overpowered my senses, Raguna had squeezed my hand and said, "I'm glad you're alright, Felicity."_

"Felicity?" asked Lara. I woke up from my daydream. "Yes?" I replied. She just looked at me in a queer way and continued with her work. I wondered why she was acting like that. But before I could ask, somebody knocked on the Clinic doors and my father barged in, followed by Bianca, Jasper and Tabatha. He hugged me tightly, so tightly that my head began to ache again. I pushed him off, one hand on my head. Lara sat next to me and made me drink another headache medicine. Bianca sat down near my feet and looked at me anxiously, while Tabatha stood behind her, the same expression on her face. I smiled at them and assured them that I was fine, although the headache was becoming a bit stronger. They looked a bit relieved, but Lara was looking at me that queer way again. I looked at her, but she avoided my gaze. My father, Bianca, Tabatha and Jasper helped me get up, and they took me to my room.

My father first talked to me seriously, again asking me what had happened. I kept quiet. He kept on asking me, but I did not reply. He then gave up, sighing. He stood up, kissed my forehead and left, telling me not to stress myself again. I began to feel a bit guilty.

Bianca and Tabatha kept me company for sometime. But when Bianca began to talk about her clothes and such, my mind fell on Lara, and the way she had looked at me. After a few minutes of thinking, I recognized her queer expression.

It was jealousy.

But why? Lara had everything I had. She had a family just like mine, much more friends than what I have, and a very good job. _I_ should be the one envying _her_ for having such good health. I racked my mind to find what the cause of her jealousy was. I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to figure it out. I decided that the only way would be if I asked her myself. Bianca and Tabatha left at about six, leaving me to the loneliness that I had to endure for the next week. I slowly fell asleep.

The next morning, my father woke me up. I smiled at him, but he did not return that smile. He gave me breakfast, that disgusting thing which Lara makes me eat when I'm really ill. I choked it down and was about to ask my father if anything was troubling him, but he left before I could say anything. Tears clung onto my eyes and I called out to my father. He came in, looking rather tired. I threw the bed sheet of me and ran to him and hugged him, crying into his shoulder. He hugged me back, asking me what was wrong. I told it to him, my voice covered in coughs, that little strain enough to make me feel unwell. He apologized to me, and helped me to the bed. I sat down, and he covered me up, kissed me on my forehead before going to answer the bell.

I felt as though somebody had hit me with a dead Chitter.

~*~

Mayor Godwin opened the door for us, and Miss Bianca barged right in. I bowed to him and thanked him before hurrying after my mistress. She knocked don the door and we heard Felicity's weak voice, telling us to come in. Miss Bianca walked in and sat next to her, smiling at her. I shut the door and stood behind my mistress. Felicity looked at me angrily.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Sit down!" she said, her voice breaking slightly. I looked at Miss Bianca, who nodded. Once. I quickly sat down, as Felicity looked ready to kill, but she was so weak, could she even stand up?

Miss Bianca droned on about her clothes for about fifteen minutes, when Felicity asked us a strange question.

"Um…weird question, but are you guys…possibly…jealous…of me?" she said, hesitantly. I looked at Miss Bianca, who looked at me, before she began to giggle and turned away. I saw tears forming on Felicity's eyes.

"I th-thought so…wh-who would want to be a p-patient z-zero?" she said, her voice breaking. Miss Bianca apologized and hugged her. Felicity pushed her away, coughing. We fell silent. She then continued to talk.

"But if you were, why would you be?" she asked.

The silence continued. She looked first at Bianca, then to me and then back to Bianca.

"Maybe because you are really pretty?" suggested Miss Bianca. Felicity turned a bit red.

"Thank you Bianca, but she is pretty too." she said. We were at a loss. She sighed and looked out of the window, before suddenly becoming her jovial self again.

"So, what happened to you today, Tabatha?" she asked.

"U-um…" I heard a knock on her door, and I went to open it. Lara walked in, smiling, but I had a feeling that it was rather forced. Felicity smiled at her, another forced smile to the list. Lara said that she was going to give Felicity a shot, so she asked Miss Bianca and me to leave, as she did not want any of us to feel uncomfortable.

When we walked out, Miss Bianca stayed close to the door, eavesdropping. I glared at her, and she put a finger on her lips. We heard a slight whisper of pain from Felicity as the needle went into her arm. They fell silent. I was a bit confused. Felicity and Lara were usually on perfect terms, being best friends. Even from outside, I could sense that it was a very painful silence. Thankfully, Felicity broke it.

"L-Lara…" she began. Lara gave a grunt. "Wh-why are you…jealous of me?" she blurted.

Another silence followed. Felicity asked her again, her voice much more quiet. We heard the scraping of a chair as Lara stood up.

"Why am I jealous? Why?!" she said, her voice sounding a bit…demented.

"L-Lala! Please, calm down!" said Felicity, in a scared voice.

"I'm jealous, because you have him! And I love him!" she said. I saw Miss Bianca's eyes grow wide. She too had figured out who Lara had been talking about.

She was talking about the brown-haired, blue eyed farmer, the one who I rather liked, Raguna. Lara continued to vent out her anger.

"He likes you, don't you know that? Only an idiot would wait for some stranger to wake up!" she said. Her voice suddenly became softer than usual. "And I know that you like him, too." Miss Bianca suddenly grabbed my hand and walked out of the house. I figured that she was upset, because I knew that she liked Raguna too, although she did not show it. I myself was a bit upset.

~*~

Lara slammed the door shut, after telling me to stay in bed. Tears leaked out of my eyes. My best friend hated me. My other two friends had left, perhaps for the same reason as Lara. My father was disappointed in me, despite all my efforts. I felt like hiding under my bed and melting into the darkness, forever. Even the fact that Raguna liked me did not cheer me up. It did, but the other three depressing facts just poured cold water over my happiness, extinguishing it out. Darkness took over my senses again.

That dead Chitter was having a lot of work today.

**OK, this was long. 2,216 words long, and a lot of drama. I was afraid to post this up because of it's lenght and drama. Thank you for all who reviewed, I changed the name because it was slightly stupid.** **Please Review, I like them, and if you like the story, reviews tell me to write more. Can anybody guess where I got the 'dead squirrel whacking suffering person' from? Hint: It comes from a rather grown-up serial.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 6: Confusion.**

I went to her house at about five, not wanting to disturb her. When I reached her house, I felt as though something was wrong. I went into the house, greeting the Mayor before going upstairs to her room I heard sobs coming from inside, so I knocked.

"Felicity, are you alright?" I asked. The crying stopped, but there was no answer. "Felicity?" I asked timidly.

"W-who is it?" she asked, her voice cracking. I told her it was me. She told me to come in. I walked in quietly, and I saw her face.

There were bags under her eyes; her face was paler than vampires, making her ruby red lips look darker than usual, but worst of all, I saw the tracks of recent tears on her cheeks. She smiled at me, but it was very forced.

"H-hello, R-Raguna, how a-are you t-today?" she said, hesitantly. I knew something was wrong, so I asked her.

"Is something wrong, Felicity?" I asked. Shaking her head, tears formed on her eyes.

"Not much." she said.

I went close to her and hugged her, and she cried into my shoulder. She began to cough.

The sound of her tearful coughs was unbearable. I patted her head, trying to make her feel better. Her whole body shook, and with each cough she began to lean on me harder. I hugged her tightly. She stopped. She looked up at me, and I wiped away a few tears. She thanked me, her voice a bit coarse.

"What's wrong, Felicity?" I asked. She didn't say anything. I asked her again. She was looking straight into my eyes, and once again, I found myself melting in her green gaze.

"N-nothing." she said. I felt a bit angry. "So, nothing was wrong, that's why you were crying?" I asked, angrily. Those green eyes began to look a bit watery again. I apologized, not wanting to see her cry again.

"R-Raguna." she said. She tried to get out of my grasp, turning pink. I then realized how close we had been. I let go, blushing. She sat on her bed, wiping her eyes. She smiled at me. I gave her a Moondrop, one which I had been saving up for a few days. She looked at it doubtfully.

"Did you grow this one?" she sniffed. I nodded. She smiled and thanked me, then asking me to get a vase from her table. When I went there, I saw a round rock, acting like a paperweight. I asked her what that was.

"Oh, Cecilia gave it to me a long time ago, because she was scared of it or something like that. She really likes it, so she comes to check on it often. That's why I keep it there." she explained softly. I picked up a beautifully decorated vase and put the Moondrop in it. She thanked me. But my eye caught a signature at the bottom of the vase. On the vase, it was scribbled… 'Felicity.' I felt shocked.

"Wow, Felicity, you painted this?" I asked. She nodded and laughed at my astounded face. It was a blue vase with many deep green stripes in it. They intertwined with each other and at the top both the green and blue were ended by a thin purple line. I looked at her and realized that the green in the vase matched with her eyes. I smiled at her. I then looked around the room. There were many paintings in the room, all done by her. There was a picture of an elaborate bookcase, much like the one in the Mayor's study. There was a picture of the park, with blue flowers instead of yellow. There was a picture of the back of Neumann's house, covered in snow. But more that the pictures, I noticed something else. Most of the pictures had a frame inside itself, a brown frame that reminded me of wood. I pointed at it and asked her what it was. She smiled bitterly and said that it was the sill of a window. I felt really bad. She was too ill to go out for a long time. I looked at her, but she did not. She looked out of the window, looking at the freedom which she could not grasp. She was an imprisoned bird, in the black darkness in which she was forced to stay in. Her only joy is the times when she could leave her prison.

I did not know what to do. So I just looked out of the window too. She closed her eyes, and kept silent for a long time. When she opened them again, she was very calm, and she reminded me of her father. She smiled at me.

"I think you should go back, it's about-"she was interrupted by a knock on her door. She looked surprised. I ran to the door and opened it; Doctor Edward came in. Felicity looked surprised, before she realized something, and her happy expression faded. The Doctor told me to leave as it was late and also that he was giving Felicity a shot. I wished them good-night and was about to leave when Felicity called out to me. I turned around.

"Thank you for listening to me earlier." she said, giving me a beautiful smile. I grinned and left. The Doctor did not look up from his kit.

**~*~**

The Doctor continued to look through his kit even after Raguna left. He looked up at me before giving me a shot, and I took the opportunity to ask him the question before I blacked out.

"Doctor, where's Lara? Is she alright?" I asked. He smiled at me. "Lara went back home because she had some work to do. She is perfectly fine." he said. I sighed. Lara definitely hated me. He noticed this and asked me if something was wrong. I felt like slapping him and crying again, but I did not do both, after all, he was the one with the needle. He continued to smiled and gave me my shot. I felt that blackness overpower me when he left. He bade me good night, but the darkness was a bit too strong.

When I fainted, the darkness which enclosed me was outlined by tears.

**You guys are so mean. Unless I say review, you don't review. *sobs* Okay then, I'll say it. Please _please please PLEASE_ review!!! Reviews motivate me to write more!! I'd like to thank everybody who reviewed, you people are so kind!! I've got a new story idea, and I've been catching myself thinking about that instead of this one. *sighs* I should get a betareader, I think my work is sucking real bad.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 7: Spring Festival.**

Spring was wearing on, and it was the day before the spring festival. Usually either Lara or Bianca would be jumping around and talking about who would give them a cookie, but they don't visit me now. My week of rest was complete, so I was sitting in the park, talking to Tabatha.

Tabatha had always visited me when she had the free time, and she was very sweet to me. We did not talk much, but she was good company, her occasional joke or two enough to leave you in splits. We were having a good time when Bianca marched in, told Tabatha to come back to the mansion and left without even looking at me. Tabatha gave me an apologetic look, and I smiled at her.

The rest of the day was going to be very lonely, so I went back to my house. My father was in his study, cleaning out some papers. He called out to me to help him.

The study was coated in a thin layer of fine dust, so I told my father to keep all of the papers outside, while I clean the place. He nodded, and began to carry large amounts of papers outside. I helped him a bit, and we cleared out the study by lunch. Dad was hungry, so he went to eat, while I started to sweep up the place. I heard the doorbell ring. My father opened it. I heard his entire conversation.

"Welcome, Raguna! What's the matter? You have a bandage on your shoulder!" my father said. Raguna gave a small laugh, and spoke.

"It's not much. I got it patched up. I wanted to tell you that I was exploring Carmite Cave today, and I went to the back and found a large monster there. Mist and Zavier followed me to the room, and told me it was a Greater Daemon. Mist told me that I had to defeat it in battle and send its spirit to the First Forest…so, I did." he said. My father praised him for his remarkable swordsmanship, and Raguna brushed off his praise modestly. He became all business. "Mayor, I have also ploughed a lot of land in Carmite Cave, and I wish to get a pass to Toros Cave." Raguna said. Father laughed, and admitted that he must have explored the Carmite Cave entirely, so he would give him a pass to Toros cave. He called out to me.

"Felicity, please get one of out Toros Cave passes for Raguna here!" he said. I began to search in the pile of passes littered on the floor, my spirits very down. Raguna came up the stairs.

"Hey." he said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him; he was a really good friend of mine now, as he visited me almost everyday when I was bedridden. I continued to search in the pile of papers in front of me, and he sat next to me.

"So, how does this pass look like?" he said, shifting the large amounts of paper aside.

"It's got the words 'Toros Cave Pass' written on it in capital letters…" I murmured, still searching. Both of us spotted the pass at the same time, and we both darted for it. Our hands touched slightly, and I pulled away, blushing ever-so-slightly. He picked it up, and smiled at me.

"Raguna, I know that you are very skilled with the sword, but please, be careful in Toros Cave, the monsters are strong, stronger than the ones in Carmite Cave." I said. He nodded, assuring me that he will be careful before leaving. He gave me a mischievous grin.

"Are you going to follow me into the caves just to warn me to be safe again?" I turned bright red.

"T-that was only once! I-It was your first time into the caves!" I spluttered. He gave a goofy grin and left. I smiled after him. Maybe tomorrow, he would give me a cookie. I could not wait for tomorrow.

~*~

It was the Spring Festival today. The day a man takes a deep breath, summons his courage, and gives the girl he likes a cookie. I was going to give all the girls a cookie, so I had been cooking a lot lately. I went over to my oven and carefully opened it and saw that all my cookies had come out perfectly. I smiled and packed them into a small box. I left only one cookie behind, that one was for a special somebody. I went out of my house to do my daily chores, namely farming and taking care of my monster.

When I was going into town, Camus, Zavier and Lukas caught up with me. They said that they had been searching for me, and that they were going to have a competition. I did not join, so they gave me a glare and went away. I went into town and gave every girl I knew a cookie. I even baked one for that mysterious girl, Sharron. Rosetta was in a thunderous mood, as Lukas had hit on her again, but she calmed down after sometime. Lara accepted hers gratefully, and Tori stammered her thanks, while Melody shouted hers and immediately devoured the cookie. I smiled and continued. I gave Mei one, and she accepted it without a word of thanks. Cecilia was overjoyed and jumped around; showing me the cookie that Nicholas got her, while showing Nicholas the one I got for her. I saw Mist at the beach and gave her one, and she told me that she would prefer Turnips, but she accepted her cookie anyway, warning me that next year I have to give her a turnip. I went to the Mansion and saw Bianca and Tabatha there, and gave them each a cookie. Bianca smiled for the first time I had seen her and Tabatha thanked me, too. I went to the park; maybe I would see those Three Hopeless Romantics. I was also a bit concerned as I had not seen Felicity anywhere.

When I entered the park, I saw Felicity sitting on a bench, Lara right next to her. They were talking merrily. I went to the other side of the park and saw Bianca and Tabatha coming. The four of them chatted happily. I smiled. Felicity had told me that Lara and Bianca were avoiding her, but for what reason, both Felicity and I did not know. I was happy to see her with her friends, and the way her smile lit up her entire face was very cute.

But wait, how was I to give her the cookie I had made for her?

I was not going to go when those girls were there, that was for sure. It would be very embarrassing. Throwing the cookie to her was a stupid idea, and waiting for them to finish talking would result in a long wait. I decided on the wait, besides, those guys were coming now.

Lukas tripped over a rock, Zavier tripped over Lukas, and Camus jumped over them and landed on his face. The girls and I burst out laughing, as they scrambled to their feet, blushing. I went up to them.

"So, who won?" I asked. A silence fell. Then they all began to shout out their own names. I sighed. By the corner of my eye I saw Felicity's friends leaving, but she stayed behind. This was my chance, so I slipped away from the fight that had started.

She was looking at the flowers again, so I sat down next to her. I had not spent time with the other girls as I did not know them that well. Besides, I really liked Felicity. She jumped slightly when I sat next to her, and smiled when she saw my face.

"Oh, hello, Raguna…you scared me for a moment there…" she said. I smiled back at her, summoning my courage. I put my hand into my pocket and took out the cookie I had saved for her. I took a deep breath.

"Happy Spring Festival." I said, handing the cookie to her. She smiled and accepted it.

"Thank you, Raguna…wow, this one is coated in chocolate!" she said, smiling happily. I nodded and tried to make some conversation.

"So, your friends are talking to you now?" I asked. She nodded happily.

"And it's all thanks to you Raguna…thank you so much." She hugged me.

Her long brown hair tickled my chin and she was so warm in my hands. Her hair smelt delicious, her thin arms were wrapped around my waist and her head rested on my chest. I blushed slightly. "S'OK." I said. She let go of me, her cheeks slightly red too. She looked away. I looked the other direction too, feeling slightly light-headed by her hug. I tried to strike up conversation, but there was nothing to talk about. It was getting darker by the minute, and she was about to look at her watch. I quickly cobbled up a question for her.

"Wh-why don't you eat the cookie I gave you?" I asked. She nodded and took a small bite. She smiled at me.

"It's delicious, Raguna. Thank you." she said.

"You don't need to thank me so much…" I said, and we laughed.

"Do you want a bite?" asked Felicity, giving me the cookie.

"Oh, no, I couldn't…"

"Oh, but I insist. You have to taste it. It's really good." she said. She fed me the cookie and I took a bite. It really did taste good.

"Wow, I didn't care about tasting these! They taste good!" I said. She smiled.

"Do you want some more?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No matter how delicious it is, I gave it to you, so you should have it." I said. Felicity nodded, and looked at her watch. "We should go home now, Raguna…its pretty late." she said, standing up. I stood up too, and walked her home. She gave me a ravishing smile before leaving me and going into her house. I turned around and walked back to mine.

Life was good today.

**Okay, author is _slightly _confused. One person asked to speed up the story, the other told me to hurry up. So, good news, I'm going to go to the original draft now. My school starts tomorrow, I going to class nine, noooo! So my updates are going to be very slow, like about once a fortnight or something…:/ I just realized something; a hundred thousand million people must have read my fan-fiction! Wow.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 8: Can I spend time with you?**

Spring rolled on, and the intense heat of the Summer settled in. The first day of Summer. To other girls, it meant fun at the beach. To me, it was peace and quiet for an entire day. A day spend consuming medicines, drawing, looking out of my window, a rest at the park, or even a dreamy nap with a certain amnesic farmer wafting through them.

The morning rush was as typical as ever. Father would have dropped his glasses and would be bellowing out for it, only to find it inside his drawer. Papa was such a forgetful scientist…perfect in his job, imperfect at everything else, just the way he had to be. He ran out of the door to supervise the beach festival. So I collected my art supplies and went to the park, hoping to be able to draw the newly blossoming Pink Cats. Oh, how beautiful they would look, and I must capture them onto paper.

When I entered the park, it was deserted. Usually, it would be full of those who had no wish to go swimming, or those who wanted to tan before dipping in. I could almost feel the cool waves of water lick my body as I sat on a bench. The feelings of mistreatment, angst, anger and sadness crept into my heart again, as it had done so many times before. I controlled it, calming myself by telling that the Doc and Lara will find a cure, this blasted disease would leave…

I pulled out my drawing kit and began to draw, the pencil and paper happy to be with one another again. It flew across the paper, taking bit by bit of the pictures in front of me, and etching it on the paper. When the entire image had been imprinted into the paper, I put my things inside, and thought of the town, and the benefits of this festival.

Mrs. Sabrina would have excellent business today, as the cool things that she sold would be devoured by the hungry, thirsty and tired customers. It would be nice for everybody, as they would all get a chance to take a break and relax for sometime. The foreign traveler, Mei, would be fishing at the end of the pier, all the rest would be jumping of it and drenching her. Unconsciously, my hand picked up my drawing pad and pencil again and began to sketch the scene in my eyes. I counted them all of my hands, my friends and acquaintances, but I stopped at Raguna. The pencil hovered over the sheet of paper, confused to know where to put the next piece in the puzzle. The paper urged me to go to the beach and find out. So I put them way and headed cautiously to the beach. I heard a lot of noise from the beach, and I felt rather scared. I did not go out much, only to help Neumann or to the park. Therefore only a few people knew of my…existence. But I bit back the fear and cautiously edged my way into the beach.

The beach was full of people, and even though quite a few of them were inside the water, there was little space left on the sandy ground. My flip-flops made barely a sound, so I could have gone unnoticed; I just had to peek at where he was and I was done. So I was about to do so, but suddenly, Bianca called out to me. I felt the gaze of the entire village on me. Cold and warm ones. But one seemed to scare the most. The gaze belonged to the traveling poet, Lukas, and he was truly 'checking me out'. His gaze traveled all over my body, his eyes glistening with a hungry lust in his eyes. I turned red at his gaze, ignored my friends and ran away. To see so many people at once…that had been a year ago, and that was when Kardia had less than ten residents. And to see such an animal like expression on a human's face was a bit unnerving.

I ran and ran, not looking at where I was heading, not knowing if I was on firm ground and not caring if I hurt myself. I just wanted to put a distance from that gaze and me. I just hoped that I would not fall.

Right on cue, I tripped over a rock and was about to fall, but I felt strong, warm arms around me, preventing me from hurting myself. I looked up and melted into his blue gaze once again.

~*~

She was running in a breakneck speed, not seeing where she was going, and tripped on a rock near me and fell into my arms. I threw down my farming tools to catch her. She pulled her face up and looked straight into my eyes, and smiled and broke out of my grip, thanking me quietly.

"Thank you, Ragun-Oh!' she said, her eyes traveling down my bare chest. I had finished going for a swim and was going to do my chores. She blushed and looked at the floor at her feet. I smiled at her.

"Wh-why aren't you in the beach?" she asked. I told her that I had been there, and I was going to do my farm work and then go back. She looked up again and nodded. She was slightly shorter than me, I just realized so. She drew patterns on the floor next to her and stammered something.

"S-sorry? What was that?" I asked. She stopped and looked into my eyes.

"Everybody is busy at the beach…" she began hesitantly. "…so I was wondering if you would…spend some time with me?" she asked, emphasizing the plead with her eyes. I agreed, as I did not have any company and a day with Felicity would be a thing I dreamed about. We went to my farm.

I was very happy that I had finished all my work yesterday on the last day of spring. The field was in good shape, and there were no embarrassments in store for me. I excused myself for a bit and went into my house to change into something more suitable, for farming and for…other reasons. After changing, I tried to get my hair into place. It did not get better much, but still, it was not wet or messy as it was before. When I went outside, she was sitting next to the river, looking deep into it. I silently picked up my watering can and went to Carmite Cave. She saw me going and called out to me.

"I want to come too, Raguna." she said, placing her hands on her hips and giving me the beady eye.

"But Felicity, you nearly fainted when you…" I stopped when I recalled that incident and she turned pink.

"Alright, I will stay here. Be careful, Ragu." she said softly. Her new nickname for me was surprising, yet it made me happy. So I nodded and took my tinplate watering can to Carmite Cave.

As I dodged the Orc which came out of the generator to me, I went over to my crops and watered them. The runes lit up the scene, and I saw my well-cared strawberries growing in the warm climate. I watered them, and remembered the time she came to tell me to be safe. I smiled to myself; that was a real kind gesture. I began to harvest my crops, and then I touched the runes and felt the earth's energy fill my soul. What did Felicity say that day? _I care about you._

The obvious realization hit me. If she said something like that, she would have _some_ feelings for me. I just did not know if they were as a friend or as a…a lover. That answer was held in her own hands. I had to ask her. But that was out of question. So I went back to my farm, a bit disappointed.

She was nowhere to be found. It worried me, so I went into my house and the smell of food hit my nose. There was a meal for two spread out on the tale, and she was fast asleep at one side of the table.

She looked so peaceful, her long brown hair spread out over the table and her the way her mouth opened and closed slightly with her breathing. I patted her head softly, not wanting to wake her up. However, my small touch awoke her immediately. She sat up and looked around fearfully for a minute, before realizing where she was. She saw me and stood up, apologizing frantically. I shook her apologies off, and placed my strawberries on the kitchen counter. When I came back, she was sitting stiffly on the chair.

"That's quite a meal you got there." I remarked. She nodded.

"You were at Carmite Cave for a long time, so I decided to cook something for you, as it's almost noon now…" she said. My mind was bursting firecrackers. Does this mean…

"Will you have lunch with me?" she asked. _Yes!_ I thought. Instead of saying that out loud, I nodded, as the time was noon and I did not have any breakfast.

When we ate, I noticed how perfect her table manners were, and the dainty way she did everything. She was never in a rush, but she was not cool-headed. She could get angry when she wanted to. Yet, she still had a soft side to her.

During this, we finished eating and we went outside to do some work, as she had asked me if she could try ploughing the land. I put the strawberries into the shipping box, and then turned to Felicity, who was looking at the direction of my monster huts with piqued curiosity. She looked at me and pointed to them.

"Can I go see your monsters?" she asked. I nodded; taking care of them was in my list of cores for the day. I had only one monster hut with exactly four monsters in them. We entered the barn, and I saw her eyes widen. I had a Chipsqueak, a Wooly, a Water Spirit and an Orc. She looked at me with wonder, confusion and amazement.

"Ragu, I never knew you actually got such…peculiar monsters, you know?" she looked at my Wooly and Chipsqueak. "Those two are common and all, but the Orc and the other Spirit…those are usually fighting monsters." she said, touching my Wooly's head. It cuddled up to her, and so did Chip, the Chipsqueak I had. The others looked coldly from afar. I explained to her about the machines in the caves. Her eyes grew wide.

"Ragu, can you promise me something?" she asked. I nodded. "Be very careful when you go into those caves," I hoped that she would say those same words. My wish came true, although it was put in slightly different words, I hoped that I knew what she meant by them. "…everybody in this town likes and respects you. We all want you to be safe." she looked at me with a lot of care in her eyes. I nodded again, my throat a bit tight at her adorable look.

We went outside, and she asked me if she could plough the land and plant some crops. Her eyes shone with true enthusiasm, so I agreed.

But when she tried to pick up the hoe, her frail hands trembled and failed to pick up the load. She struggled to pick it up, so I helped her. I stood right behind her and held the hoe exactly where her hands were and lifted the plough up. She gave me an exhausted smile. I helped her plough the land, but even though I saw that she was pushing herself to her limits, the hoe did not feel lighter in my hands. I asked her if she wanted to stop, but she shook her head and continued. Her brown hair was tickling my chin again, but I enjoyed it. She did her best, but she managed to till only a little land. She looked a bit disappointed, so to cheer her up, I told her that she could water my crops after I sow them. Felicity agreed to this, and we set out to do our jobs. She did not find carrying the watering can strenuous, so I let her continue, keeping an eye on her, just in case of anything going wrong.

We continued till five-fifteen, when we finished our work. I thanked her and asked her if I should pay her, but she told me not to. Even after insisting, she refused. She went into my house and came out with her bag slung over her shoulder and my fishing rod in her hands. She sat down on the grass next to the river and placed the end of the string into the flowing water.

~*~

Five-Fifteen. Five-Fifteen. I go to pick up Raguna's shipping at five-fifteen. So I made my way across the well-trodden path to his house. I hoped that he could have stayed at the beach longer, but he did have to take care of his fields. But I still wanted to talk to him, as he was very good-looking, better than that pervert Lukas, who had been checking out that girl who cam to the beach…Felicity. She had been in this village for such a long time, but nobody actually saw her much. It was her illness which prevented her from doing what she pleases, but she still works hard to be an independent citizen, which leads to innumerable fights between Lara and her. Still, her valor was to be admired.

When I reached to his farm, I was about to call out to him and greet him, but I saw a scene which made my face green with envy.

They-as in to say, Felicity and Raguna- were sitting at the bank of the river which bordered his farm on two sides. They were talking.

"Do you even know how to fish?" asked Raguna. She shook her head cheerfully, and they burst into laughter. "Then why do you try to do it?" he asked, after the laughter subsided slightly.

"Because I want to try a new thing today. I tried farming and taking care of monsters, so now I want to learn how to fish." she said. Her voice was so unfamiliar. They were laughing again, but were cut when the line began to tug slightly. Felicity could not pull up the line by herself for some reason, so Raguna helped her. But the way he did…he wrapped his arms around her and touched the place where her hands were on the rod and helped her. It made me turn shades of furious greens. What they yanked out was a tin can, and they laughed again, at their catch. Their laugh had a friendly tone when it was done together. It made me want to kill somebody, so I picked up his strawberries and left towards my house, tossing a bag of money into his shipping box, tears leaking out of my eyes.

**Yes, I am very sorry for my late update. I posted a long chappie, so be happy! We are going to move along very fast from now on, please, keep up with me, okay? But it's is not going to be soooo fast. Anyway, we have news that Rosetta likes Raguna and the Feli/Ragu love has gone for the next step! This chappie is important for the-HEY!! NO SPOILERS!!! Review, please! You should know the drill by now.**

**-LL**

**P.S: I am listening to this song which says "I wish they'd die" in Japanese, and its ****11:55 p.m**** at where I live.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 9: A visit. **

A couple of weeks had passed from that day…the day I spent an entire day with Raguna. It was so dreamy, to have him so close to me as he helped me lift up the plough…I adjusted the rose in my hair and skipped down the stairs, to go to Neumann's store.

As soon as I got out, the sun's blinding rays hit me. It was the middle of summer, and the heat was unbearable. I had to get into Neumann's and get the heavy, hot coat off my shoulders. I looked at my watch. It was nine, I had been dreaming too much when I was getting ready. Quickening my pace, I went into the store without knocking. Somebody crashed into me; I went flying back and would have hurt myself, had somebody not caught me from behind. I turned to see who it was.

It was Raguna.

He had his arms around me, and was looking at me a surprised and amused expression. I smiled back at him, turning a bit red. He let go of me, and we went into the store. Whoever had crashed into me had obviously had gone back inside. So we opened the door and went inside. Inside, we saw Neumann sitting at the counter, his head in his hands. I ran up to him and put my hand on his back.

"Hey, Neumann, are you alright?" I asked, getting worried. Raguna looked rather concerned too. Neumann shook his head, and then mumbled from inside hand.

"What do you need, Raguna?" he asked. Raguna looked at me doubtfully, and I gave him a warm smile, encouraging him to continue.

"I, uh…need house extensions, and Mist told me that you could help me…" he asked. Neumann gave a muffled chuckle, and I smiled. We both knew that only if Raguna got extensions could he get married. He gave me a cookie at the Spring Festival; he would obviously have some feelings for me.

"Hey, got a girl in mind?" taunted Neumann, from somewhere inside his huge hands, as Raguna and I blushed.

"N-no! It's just that I can get a forge fitted into my new house, and I can then forge better weapons and defensive equipment!" he spluttered, looking very cute. Neumann suddenly became serious.

"How many pieces of Lumber do you have?" he asked.

Raguna paused for a minute, the said quietly, "1900 pieces of Lumber…I think." Neumann chuckled again and asked him how much money he had. He had enough money, but the lumber was not enough.

"Get another 100 pieces of Lumber, and then I will get your house extended." he said, his face still in his hands. I got irritated by him, and then pulled his face out of his palms.

"NEUMANN, GET OVER THE DEPRESSION MODE ALRE---Oh my god!" I cried as I saw his eyes. They were red, possibly from last night's drinking party. He looked at me for a moment, before burying his hands into his palms again. Raguna took out a hangover medicine from his shelf and gave it to him. Neumann looked at it for a second before gulping it down.

"I miss her so much…" he whispered. Our gazes stayed on each other's for about a minute before he walked over to the stairs. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Shop is closed today."

I knew it would be hard for him, and I really felt bad for him. He was like my big brother, and I felt sad when he looked so depressed. I was about to ask Raguna to come another day, but he stood in front of me and gave his handsome smile.

"Since the shop is closed, do you mind coming over to my farm again?" he asked, looking rather hopeful. I thought about it for sometime. I did not have anything to do, the shop was closed, my picture of the pink cats was finished and framed up in my room, I wanted to draw his field and besides, I really wanted to spend the day with him again. I looked at him carefully.

"Are you going to make me water the entire field again?" I asked craftily. He laughed and shook his head. I smiled and agreed, and he pushed open the door and held it open for me, bowing like a faithful guard. I curtsied slightly, and walked daintily out, both of us giggling hard. He held out his hand to me and I took it, thinking we were continuing the joke. But he seemed serious about it. So I tagged along beside him, enjoying the fact that he was so close to me, and was holding my hand.

When we came to the vicinity of his farm, I saw that it was covered with plant life. There was a Rune drifting lazily over a patch of Pumpkins. It floated over to us, as though it knew Raguna and wanted to help its master. I hid behind him, because I was slightly afraid of it. He laughed and touched it with one hand, and his entire body glowed with a eerie blue light, before dimming down. Raguna gave a sigh and then picked up his watering can. I skipped over to the shipping box and sat on it. As he watered his crops, we began to talk.

"So, what happened to Neumann today?" he asked, watering a patch of plants in an astonishing speed. I gaped at him for a minute before shacking myself back to the Earth.

"Um, I really don't think I can tell you, you see…It's not exactly my secret to hold." I said. He looked at and smiled.

"You really are faithful to your friends." he remarked, pulling out a weed. I got tired of sitting, so I stood up. He was still smiling, and I figured that I could tell him, anybody could trust him and he would not betray them.

"Well, you see…" I began. "Neumann and Sabrina were married." I blurted out to him, and he dropped the watering can on his foot. He picked it up, moaning from the pain. Raguna looked at me as though I had just told him that Tabatha liked to play around with wool when she was bored. Of course, I would never tell him this, it was a girl secret!

"Are you serious?" he asked. I nodded. A sudden realization hit him. "You mean Neumann and Sabrina are Nicholas' parents?!" he spluttered. I nodded again. He looked surprised before shaking his head ruefully.

"I should have figured that one out a long time ago." he mumbled, and we began to laugh. He then dropped his watering can and picked up his axe as Chip the Chitter ran up to me. He jumped into my hands and I patted his head. Raguna smiled again.

"I think he has a crush in you, you know. He always looks around hopefully for you whenever I go into the barn." he smiled, and I giggled. Chip was really cute. Just like his master. Suddenly, Raguna looked serious.

"Hey, do you have any feeling at all for…m-Neumann?" he asked. I shook my head. He raised an eyebrow mockingly, and I turned slightly red at his gaze.

"No chances do I like him! He has a kid! And when you say such thing like that, what about you and Mist?" I countered. He turned red and denied my accusation immediately. I teased him, although it hurt me. But I knew he was serious. He had no feelings for her.

Suddenly, we saw a Rune float up from his patch of now-ripe Pineapples. We watched it amazed, as it was a sight worth seeing, the way the Rune majestically rose from the ground. He smiled happily, but I turned red when I remembered an old Kardian Myth I had once heard of.

_"When two young birds of love see a Rune arise from its abode the Earth, they will be blessed with an eternal life together."_

Raguna saw my crimson face and touched my cheek concernedly. He asked me if something was wrong, to which I replied that I was completely fine. He then smiled and told me to take the Rune, as he wanted me to feel the immense power fill my soul. I looked at it carefully. I always wanted to touch a Rune, but they always looked rather intimidating. This one however, tried to lure me into its cyan interior.

I held onto Chip tightly and extended my hand to touch the Rune.

~*~

She slowly extended her hand to touch the Rune. For some strange reason, I felt a feeling of dread fill my heart. Her hand touched the blue orb.

It was about three in the afternoon. The afternoon summer sun shone its harsh rays onto us. My crops thrived in such weather. The various multicolored grasses in my field seemed to catch the occasional gusts of wind and fluttered in it.

The Rune touched the tip of her finger and then extended and covered her hand, then her entire torso, and finally; it enveloped her completely. She levitated above the ground a few inches.

She screamed out in pain.

Felicity dropped Chip, and he scampered over to the barn. I tried to pull her out of the blue cloak now surrounding her, but it sent a shock of pain through my body and I was thrown back. I had no choice but to wait for the Rune to release her.

It was agonizing, to see her frail around and moan in the Rune's grasp. But there was no other way to it.

The wretched cyan light now dimmed and she fell into my waiting arms. She looked at me with exhausted, tired, sleep-deprived yet pretty eyes, before fainting then and there. I decided not to take her to the Clinic as she had told me before that Lara would yell at her if she went there with another problem concerning her health. I placed her on my bed, pulled the sheets over her and then went to fetch Doctor Edward.

Lara was not in the clinic, so I managed to tell the Doctor of the entire situation and get him to my house with all of his tools. We practically ran into my house, and we witnessed a very sweet scene.

Chip and Wooly were sitting next to Felicity, and they were looking at her anxiously.

I smiled at them and nudged them out of the room, but they seemed to want to stay with her, so I had to keep them away from the bed as Edward performed his traditional check-up. He got up after a few minutes, sighing.

"Don't worry, she will be fine…as usual." he spat. I wondered why he was acting like this, so I asked him. "Felicity's illness," he began, "is a very strange thing. No matter what medicine I give her, she remains as ill as ever, if not worse. When I check her up, she is perfectly fine. But even after such suicidal acts like this, my medicine still is ineffective against her illness. I think it is a certain type of virus which does not want to be cured." he explained. I felt really bad. He continued his speech. "I often think it is a supernatural thing that is going on, but being a man of science, I cannot succumb to such childish notions. Don't worry; she will wake up soon enough. Good day to you." and saying this, he walked out of my house, his usual happy aura slightly depressed. I looked at Felicity.

She had an incurable disease, yet she lived life with full gusto. She paid for it after having her fun, like she was doing now. But the reason she did it was because she wanted her freedom. She did not want to be imprisoned forever. Between her father, Doctor Edward and Lara, she was trapped in a doomed triangle, and I did not want to become the fourth person in it. I patted her head.

It was amazing how she kept up with such a life.

**Look, I am so sorry for the late update. I will be posting all chapters late for the noxt one month, as I have exams. Sooo sorry! Also, my mother will kill me if I go on the comp anymore. SO see ya! Review! The drill does not change! Bye!**

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	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 10: Jerkas.**

**Now, it is unlike me to type an A/N BEFORE my story, but I must. Yip-yip-yippee for my tenth chapter! First milestone complete! WOOT! So. I have a small thing to tell you people, save the entire ram-khatha which will come later. This is my 'motivating chapter' and as the name suggests, it is the chapter which motivated me to write the story so far. Now you will all be thinking, crap, she's not going to write more. I correct you there. The next few chapters are really sweet, and I love them. Characters in this chapter: Raguna, Felicity, Cecilia, Nicholas and Lukas. Okay, enough of my ranting. Ceci POV. Minus the word count by 116.**

* * *

It was a brand new day! This meant that it was a new day of playing with Nicholas and everybody else who wanted to! I skipped around my Daddy's room, and chose out my favorite dress, the one I wear everyday. Tori had made so many of them when she was practicing her stitching! This one felt a little tight, but that was alright. I ran down the stairs towards the library which was attached to my house and saw my Daddy reading a big book. I ran up to him and hugged him, and he was surprised. He laughed and gave me my breakfast. I gobbled it down, as I he made scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. I LOVE scrambled eggs!

"Daddy! I'm going to go play with Nicholas!" I trilled, and then skipped around him and ran outside before he could say anything. I ran towards the park, hoping that Nicholas would be there like he promised.

When I entered the park, I heard him proclaiming his vow to save the world to someone. That someone Felicity! She was the one who helped me when I was scared of my stones, and I threw a lot of them away, but I _think_ I gave her one or two…I wonder if I did?

"…and, I, Sir Nicholas, will save the world from the evil grasp of…" I decided to jump in now, and scare him. I jumped out at him, screaming. He yelped as I landed on him. Unfortunately, I stepped on his foot and his arm hit my head. It hurt a lot, and I felt tears come into my eyes.

"Ceci, get off my foot!" he shouted.

"Nick, why did you slap me?!" I howled, and we were about to fight when the Felicity stepped in.

"Calm down, both of you…" she said, gently pushing us away from each other. She smiled gently at me and rubbed my cheek slightly. The pain went away a bit. I smiled at her. She then made sure that Nicholas was alright before sitting back down onto the bench, breathing deeply as though she was suddenly tired.

"Are you alright?" I asked, sitting next to her. She nodded. Nicholas sat beside her, swinging his legs.

"Will you tell me a story, Miss Felicity?" he asked. She nodded and told us a thrilling story of a prince and a princess, and how they ran away from evil bad-guys! Her story was really good! At the end, both Nicholas and I clapped at her story. She smiled at us.

"Ceci, lets act out the play now!" said Nicholas. He jumped off the bench and then began to act like the prince, and I acted like the princess. Felicity helped us during our play. We had a lot of fun!

But every time Miss Felicity did something a little tiring she would sit down and take deep breaths. I was very concerned, so I asked her.

"Are you alright, Felicity?" I asked, and she smiled and nodded.

"I don't think you look so well, Miss Felicity." said Nicholas, pouting.

"I'm fine." she said, giving a small yet forced laugh. "Want to hear another story?"

"Let's play tag! I'm It!"

Nicholas was It, Felicity and I had to run. I grabbed her hand and dragged her along with me. She squeaked in surprise, and I expected her to try and pull away, but her attempts were very weak. Nicholas began to chase us, and I ran harder, pulling her with me. She suddenly wrenched her arm out of my grasp, and collapsed onto her knees, coughing.

"Oh, gosh, sorry…" I said. She did not stop coughing, but waved my apology away.

Her coughing went on for a long time, and then she stopped. I was very concerned, but she said she was alright. A voice spoke from behind us.

"You don't sound alright." I turned, and I saw that strange poet man called Lukas standing there. But why did he look at Miss Felicity like a dog looking at a juicy bone? He looked very scary, and I took a step back. Felicity looked as though she would like to turn and run, and Nicholas stood in a defensive stance. He smiled at the three of us in a sinister way.

"So, who are we going to play today?" he said, leering at Felicity. Her lips trembled slightly. I began to feel scared. He smiled and crouched near Felicity. She recoiled back, as though he was going to hurt her. He extended his arm and touched her cheek.

"Are you going to play?" he asked to Felicity. She looked scared...why was that so? And why was _I_ felling scared? Nicholas stepped in.

"No. Felicity is going to tell us a story! And what you said earlier was wrong English, Mister!" he said, pushing away his hand and helping Felicity to get up. She scrambled to her feet and stood straight and tall, and glared at Lukas, although her hand was squeezing all the blood from my hand.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Lukas." she snarled. He laughed sinisterly.

"I don't think I am." he said, and Felicity seemed to squeeze my hand harder. "Felicity, I believe I know the cure for your illness." He stood up.

Felicity's eyes widened, her other hand, the one which was not squeezing mine, suddenly began to tremble. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She managed to strangle out one word.

"What?" she whispered, and I think I saw somebody approaching us.

"It's rather simple. The cure..." he said, taking a step closer, "is a simple sleepless night, if you get what I mean."

I did not know what that meant, but suddenly Felicity stopped squeezing my hand, and all the blood drained from her face. Lukas had a smug expression on his face. Tears began to fall from her cheeks, and she sunk onto the ground again, covering her face with her hands. Somebody brushed past me, and I caught the sight of short, brown hair, before something strange happened.

Raguna-for of course it was he-slapped Lukas, very, very hard.

Lukas staggered back, and Nicholas gave a yell of triumph. Felicity was still crying, so I put one hand on her back and tried to comfort her. For some strange reason, she would not stop. Nicholas came next to us and tried to comfort her too. Lukas and Raguna were shouting at each other.

"You cannot say something like that to her!" shouted Raguna, his face turning red with anger.

"I can talk to her any way I want!" Lukas countered. "She's not your personal toy!"

I did not know why Raguna became so angry all of a sudden, and he punched Lukas in his stomach and told him to leave, his voice trembling with anger. Lukas left without any complaint. He came over to us, and put an arm around Felicity. She began to cry into his shoulder as he comforted her.

"You two...leave." he said, pleading us with his now-calm blue eyes. We nodded, and left the park. Nicholas suddenly took my hand and dragged me off to somewhere.

"Wh-where are we going?" I asked.

"We are going to go teach Lukas a lesson!" he panted. I nodded. How MEAN was he? He made Felicity cry. He made Raguna, a peace-loving person, slap him. And he made Nicholas and I very, very mad. He was going to pay for that.

We ran into the General Store, and we found him talking to Rosetta in the same sinister way. Nicholas and I jumped at him, and began to hit him, very, very hard. He howled in pain. I think Rosetta must have joined the fight, because I don't think we were hurting him that badly. Oh well. His loss.

~*~

I tried to comfort her the best that I could. She was crying so very hard into my shoulder that she suddenly began to cough while doing so.

The sound she made...she had cried like this once before, and I did not want it to happen again.

"Please, Felicity, stop it..." I said. But I knew nothing would comfort her. She cried harder and harder, and I comforted her the best I could.

"Raguna...wh-what if..." she choked, her voice constricted. "what if he...is right? Wh-what if..." I stopped her by putting my finger on her lips, sudden anger flowing through me again.

"Three points. One, what he said is NOT the answer. Second, Lukas is never right. Third, Lara and Doctor Edward are working very hard to help you. I'm sure there is another way. Besides, from now on, I will help you as much as I can. I'm sure that there will be a cure in the caves. When I find it, it will cure you. Please, just stop crying..." I pleaded. She looked at me, her green eyes overflowing and then smiled her beautiful smile. I wiped away her tears and smiled back at her. She got up slowly.

"You are right, Raguna." she said. "I am sorry for being so silly..." her green eyes were filled with guilt.

"D-don't apologize...it's okay..." I said, feeling a small blush creep up my cheeks. I looked at her...was she blushing too?

Yes, she was. It was an expression which made her look extremely pretty, it made my blush harder. I awkwardly offered my arm out to her, due to an unexplainable rush of feelings. She took it.

She took it. She actually took it! Does that mean...would it be possible...was it even real...that she...that she liked me? Was it even possible? Would Felicity, the daughter of the mayor of a town, would fall in love with a amnesic farmer like me?

My thoughts were interrupted by our arrival at her house. _Why_ was _all_ the trips I had with her so short? She pulled her arm out of mine, and then gave me a small smile.

"Thank you, Raguna." she said. Her smile was making me dizzy. I nodded. Then she did something totally unexpected.

She gave me a kiss on my cheek.

I felt the place where she kissed me burn, and then felt the entire face burn because of my blush. She gave me a shy smile and then scuttled into her house, leaving me completely confused in her wake.

**A/N: Hey again. Sorry about the late update and the ranting earlier. Couldn't help it. Haha. Anyway, today was my school's Sports Day. My house(team, group, gang, whatever) had been winning for 6 years in a row. Unfortunately, they lost this year, and the Captain of my house was really sad. *sobs* I was cheering my team on and telling others to cheer...my voice is now completely gone. *sighs* Anyway, in this chapter, we see how Jerky Lukas can get. You can also see why I rated this story 'T', haha. All Rosetta fans rejoice! All Lukas haters too! All Lukas lovers, well...I'm sorry. It was for my story. Also, we can see a small romantic interaction between Raguna and Felicity, and we see that Raguna thinks that Felicity likes him. review~ you know that it never changes...you review, I post up faster~ Heehee!**

**-LL  
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	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 11: Birthday confession.**

**Damn it, the name gives it away.**

Autumn had finally begun, and my house renovations were complete. I now had enough room for a forge, an accessory crafting table, a small pharmacy and…a wife. I had all the material that Ivan had to sell, all the necessities necessary. Only one thing remained.

That was to confess my love to Felicity.

Unfortunately, that was the most crucial thing. She loved me, or so I had speculated. But she was so shy…how was she going to admit that? Which meant that I had to tell her? But how was I to do so? Chip ran up to me, as I doodled in my soup. He ran and sat on my lap, and looked at me adoringly as I absent-mindedly dripped some soup on his nose, causing him to try to lick it off. I sighed and looked at the bouquet of flowers on the counter.

Today was the fourth of Autumn. Tomorrow was Felicity's birthday, the fifth of Autumn. And for her birthday, I made a lot of Formula B's to grow the Charm Blues in time. They were arranged in an attractive way, and I was to give it to her tomorrow.

But how was I to give it to her?

I pondered over this question for a long time, before jackpot hit me. I smirked and reached for my journal. After I quickly jotted down the note, I tore out the paper and tied it to the bouquet. After putting it on, I placed it back in its original position and looked at my food.

Chip had drunk it all, and was snoring on my pillow.

"You little rascal…" I said, shaking my head and pulling him off my pillow. I threw myself on my too-large bed and sighed, but it was a happy one this time. I shuddered with happiness. Tomorrow was going to be one of the best days in my life, and hers too, I hope.

~*~

I was rudely awakened at seven by people screaming. Getting up with a start, I looked around groggily to see Lara, Bianca and Tabatha, one holding three presents, one holding nothing at all, and one holding a large cake respectively.

"Happy Birthday!" they cried, and I nodded, smiling a bit sleepily. They laughed at my face, and I scrambled out of my bed to hug them all, all of us screaming. They handed me the gift before even I could ask them too.

"Will you guys wait? I just woke up!" I said, shooing them out. I changed into my usual clothes and opened the door to find Bianca tearing open my gifts, yelling, "I can't wait all day!" We all laughed.

Bianca unearthed a blue bracelet and ring from Tabatha, a blue bag from Lara and proudly showed me the dress she got for me, a long blue skirt with a plain white shirt and tiny frills on the arms and neck. I looked at all of the items carefully. They all matched with each other. I frowned.

"That's right, Felicity, they all match." said Tabatha, smiling. Were those three trying to pull a prank on me?

"Isn't it a shade of blue you've seen before?" teased Bianca. My heart gave a pang when I realized that the shade of blue was the same as the color of Raguna's eyes.

"So when he finally asks you out, you have to wear this, okay?" said Lara with a wink. I looked at her curiously; was she over that fight we had the other day?

One look at her face told me the answer. She had gotten over it. Had she had fallen for somebody else? I smiled at her and hugged her again.

"I'm sure the Doctor loves you too, Lara…" I whispered and released her. Her face was bright red, causing Bianca, Tabatha and I to laugh. She spluttered a word we couldn't catch and were about to tease her when a small voice spoke from the top of the stairs.

"Umm…Felicity?"

We turned to see Raguna standing at the top of the stairs, a large bouquet in his hands. All the laughter subsided. He gave a small smile and came up to me. My friends still did not have the decency to look away, but continued to gaze at us in an irritating manner. Raguna was blushing in his cute way. He gave me the bouquet.

"Happy Birthday, Felicity." he said. He stooped down slightly, pulled my hair out of my face and did something I had never imagined he would ever do before. It did not even happen in my dreams.

He kissed my lips-a small kiss on them- before turning and scrambling out of the house.

I just stood there in shock, losing feeling in my legs. My hands were trembling and I felt a shock going through my body. The blood rushed out of my face. My lips burnt fiercely with his kiss. I was completely speechless.

His lips were rather hard, but they had a kind, soft side to them, showing his true character. They were warm and comforting, like when he wrapped his arms around me to comfort me that day. My friends came next to me and looked anxiously at me. I smiled awkwardly at them, and they burst out into giggles and hooting.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Bianca.

"Did you see that?" squealed Lara.

"W-well, I was the one _being _kissed, you know…" I muttered, my cheeks filling up with a red blush.

"How was it?" asked Tabatha, smiling. I kept quiet at her question.

"Well? Don't avoid her question, girl! How was it?!" Lara screeched, stomping her foot down in unison with Bianca. I smiled smugly at them, placing the bouquet on the table.

"You will just have to find out." I said, my grin widening. The moaned in frustration. My eye caught sight of a note in the bouquet of beautiful Charm Blues, no doubt grown on his farm. I reached for it and opened it, to see a message scribbled on it.

_Dear Felicity,_

_Happy Birthday._

_This is the most pointless note in history, but I need a tiny favor from you._

_Could you meet me at my farm at four this afternoon? I'll be waiting. Please come._

_Raguna._

A hot pink blush wove through my face and reached the roots of my hair. My friends tried to read the note, but I hid it and stuck out my tongue at them. They growled again. I looked at the time. It was about seven-thirty. This was going to be a long, long wait.

Time had never been a good friend of mine. Whenever I was resting, it would crawl like a turtle. When I was having fun, it raced like a cheetah. But there was that time when I had the time of my life, yet it still paced along slowly. Like now, when my friends and I were spending time together.

As time crawled by, my friends and I went around town, chatting at the park, sitting at the beach, or even lying down in Bianca's garden.

Finally, my watch read three forty-five.

I stood up, dusted my skirt and turned to leave, giving some excuse. My mind was more intent on knowing why he had called me to his farm. I drifted over to his farm, my mind swirling.

Why was he calling me to his farm? Was he going to tell me something? Was he going to confess something? While I was thinking, I found myself outside his newly-upgraded house.

"H-hey, Felicity." His sweet, charming voice sounded from behind me. I turned around and saw him standing right behind me, a small, sheepish grin on his face. I felt the ghost of the kiss twinge on my lips.

"H-hey…." I whispered, feeling the hot blush spread over my cheeks. He gave an awkward laugh.

"Um…wh-why did you call me here, Ragu?" I asked. His cheeks turned a bit red at my nickname for him. He scratched the back of his neck and then put his hands in his pockets.

"I, uh, need to tell you something." he said softy.

My entire body was tingling with excitement and hope.

"Do you remember the day you followed me into the caves?" he asked. I flushed with embarrassment again. That day was a very embarrassing one.

"Well, that day, you told me…" he gave another forced, awkward laugh and continued. "You told me that…that you cared about me."

I had said that. Because I had cared about him. I still do. I will always care about him. I always will be in love with him. I will always do my best to help him. He took my hands.

"Did you mean that as a friend…or as…as…" his voice trailed off, and he looked directly into my eyes.

His blue eyes shone with something I had seen only once before. I had seen that expression when he had been caring for his crops. But now, it was stronger, much stronger.

His expression read Love.

He sucked in a deep breath.

"Did you mean those words as a friend or-or as a lover?" he asked, his words tumbling over each other. I felt my cheeks burn. "B-because…I love you, Felicity. I do."

My heart seemed to have stopped beating.

He was confessing his love to me. Finally. He was finally confessing his love. We gazed at each other for a moment when my eyes filled with tears. I nodded frantically, and his face broke out into his charming smile again, and he pulled me into a big bear hug. My tears of happiness tainted his shirt, and he patted my head gently. I choked out those magical words.

"I love you, too."

**Author is not available this time as the author has a mathematics exam tomorrow and is jumping about, screaming, "They confessed! They confessed!". Also, she would like to tell all of those who has been asking for Felicity's recovery to wait for sometime, insert many exclamation marks and that she is sorry for the late update. She had exams. 3log2=x. Find x. 10 to the power x=8. This sum is invalid.**

**If x=number of reviews and y= speed of writing, then x=2y-parallax error (exams, school, life). Her main point is: REVIEW NOW! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *shot*  
**

**~LL.  
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	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or anything from it.**

**Chapter 12: Hugs and Kisses.**

**(Curse you ****Tina****, with your give-away chapter names...)**

"Whaaaaat?!" I screeched, with Lara accompanying me. Felicity winced and hid behind Tabatha. Lara began to hyperventilate, and I joined her.

"Y-you are saying…" began Lara.

"… you two…" I continued.

"…confessed your love to each other?" completed Tabatha mildly. Felicity blushed and began to draw pictures on the ground next to the bench we were sitting on. I took that as a yes. How could she not tell me? ME?! Bianca de Alexander Maria Jacques Elizabeth Sainte-Coquille?!

"Whaaaaat?!" I yelled again.

"Congrats!" squealed Lara and Tabatha. I glared at them, but then again…I guess that even I would hide to from my friends, so…I suppose an allowance was necessary. I suppose.

"Humph. Congrats, I guess…" Felicity hugged us all and beamed like a child. I sat on the bench again and looked at her expectantly.

"Have you two _kissed_ yet?" I asked. Felicity, who had been dancing with Lara, suddenly stopped and looked at me as though she had just realized something. Her face showed shock realization and…disappointment.

"You two…" Lara started.

"…haven't even…" I growled.

"…kissed?" finished Tabatha in that same tone as before. We-as in to say, Lara and I-glared at Felicity. She cowered behind Tabatha again, and we took a deep breath for our screaming.

"Are you trying to tell me that even after _four days_ of a so-called _relationship_, you haven't even _kissed_?!"

I think all the native birds of Kardia flew out at our scream. Felicity blushed and Tabatha silenced us and told us to keep it down. Lara suddenly began to smirk and she winked at us. The signal. Tabatha had realized it, and we all looked at Feli like evil people in those fantasy books.

"Oh, my, I should have gone to cook the food for tomorrow's festival a long time ago…" began Tabatha.

"Hey, Feli, you LOVE him, right?" I said, and she blushed and nodded.

"Well, if you want such _pleasures_, you have got to go through some _pressure_ as well." smirked Lara. Felicity gasped, and her face filled with a perfect blush. Cue Tabatha.

"Well, do you want to see me cook, Miss Bianca, Miss Lara?" Pretty good acting Tabatha, if I may say so myself. We got up, dusted our skirts and headed towards the mansion, leaving an astounded Felicity in our wake.

"H-hang on…" she said weakly, and we laughed and ran to the mansion.

~*~

Wow.

I had no idea that the Kardian Harvest Festival would be so…extravagant. At least, from the de Sainte-Coquille's point of view.

Bianca, Jasper, Camus, Emmet and Neumann were participating. Obviously, Bianca was winning over her father, the renowned gastronomist, by about ten dishes of Tabatha's delicious cooking. I heard that she had to go cook more food at the rate at which the two de Sainte-Coquille's were eating.

But my eye was more focused on Felicity.

She was smiling at her best friend's battle of supremacy and was laughing with Lara at her jokes. I wanted to go stand next to her. I wanted to make her smile that angelic smile and laugh that wondrous laugh. I wanted to touch her gentle hands. I wanted so much, but I could not, because I was a bit too shy to tell anybody about our confession to each other.

So I bit my lip and stayed put. I heard Zavier run up to me and ask me the details of the competition, and then he ran off to cheer on Camus. I turned back to the fun, but I could not see Felicity anywhere. Lara smirked at me and I felt my cheeks burn. She winked at the path leading to the more isolated part of the park. I smiled at her and darted in that direction.

"F-Felicity?" I called. She turned around and when she saw me, her face erupted in a furious blush. I ran up to her and slowed down. We were now walking so close to each other that I could have held her hand. The huge bush of Charm Blues hid us completely from the commotion at the other side of the park. Wait, how does that even matter?! N-not that I was going to do anything...

"H-how do you like the festival, Raguna?" she asked, looking at the ground at her feet. I nodded, and she raised her head briefly to smile at my face.

Oh, how beautiful she looked, with a smile that complimented her beautiful features, her brown curtain of hair, her deep green pools of eyes gazing at me and that cute blush on her cheeks.

"Hey, why don't we sit down?" I asked. She blushed harder and nodded. We made our way to the nearest bench. She sat down at one end of the bench, and I sat close to her.

We were so close. My shoulder was inches away from hers and our hands were even closer.

_Take it._ Someone-something in my mind told me_. Take it. The rest will follow._ Was my hand creeping towards hers? _That's right_…A few more centimeters now, come on, go, _go_, go…

My trembling fingers finally entwined themselves through hers

She blushed a shade of indescribable red, so did I, but she did not pull away, instead her hands accepted the change and she squeezed my hand softly. Her tender fingers succumbed to my grip and a soft sigh of lust escaped her lips. She put her head on my shoulder.

Her brown hair tickled my chin and I smelt the aroma of the rose in her hair mixed with peaches and oranges. I absent-mindedly made my nose touch the top of her head, and I smelt the aroma a lot stronger. Only then did I realize the awkward position we were in, and reeled back, feeling my cheeks burn.

"S-Sorry!" I sputtered. Her blush did not leave her pretty face, and it made her look so adorable. I held myself back. I could not. It was unacceptable.

I might have thought kissing Felicity was wrong then, but her thoughts were different from those of mine. She inched a bit closer.

So did I.

My arms were suddenly wrapping themselves around her waist; her arms crept around my neck. We pulled each other close and closer until our lips met and we sank into the kiss.

When my lips touched her, her mouth opened slightly and I pushed my tongue in. Her lips were so delicate, her tongue was so gentle when it touched mine and her mouth was so soft that I lost myself for the few moments of the kiss. I held it until my lungs protested for air and released her.

She panted slightly, as though she had just run a race, and she lifted trembling fingers to her lips. I looked at her anxiously.

"I-I'm sorry for…" I began, but she suddenly kissed me again and turned away, turning redder with each second.

"I-It's okay…" she whispered, and turned her head to look at me. I gave an awkward smile, and she laughed. She put her head on my shoulder again, and I pressed my lips on the top of her head and kept my arms around her waist. The ruckus at the other end of the park seemed to be silencing.

"They must be coming back now." she said, but made no effort to move away. I gave a grunt but remained still.

However, when we heard their footsteps approaching, we broke away and sat at either end of the bench, trying to stop our blushing.

**A/N: My exams are over~ So now updates are going to come along faster~ See? I told you, x=2y-parallax error! So my update was fast, no? Also, I'd like to tell you that we are nearing the end of our story. Another...5 more chapters. MWAHAHAHAHAA! I'm nearly done with my first story! Yessss!**** I'd like to than my friend, The Legend of Rune Factory, for beta-ing this chapter, and giving me the green light even though she isn't my beta reader. Thanks, LoRFy! I'm quoting from LoRF now, 'IT'S ABOUT TIME THEY KISSED, DARN IT!' lulz.**

**You know what makes me happy...reviews...so, you know what you need to do...review...*sinister aura***

**~LL.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from this story...only the plot...and that sucks as it is...**

**Another Love Story.**

**Chapter Thirteen:Moonlit Eve.**

**Okay, so you thought I was gone? You thought I had GIVEN UP? If I had, I would have posted a new chapter telling you that I have given up! If you ever think so again, please go to my profile page. I have CLEARLY stated there that this story is going to be updated only AFTER the seventh. Not because of the writing competition, but because I HAVE EXAMS! VERY IMPORTANT ONES! And I have a free day off, thanks to Good Friday (Go Christian schools! Wewt!) even though it is Thursday today. Thanks to that, I have entire today to write. You had better be grateful that I decided to write it today. AND I AM ANNOUNCING HERE, NEXT UPDATE IS AFTER THE SEVENTH! THANK YOU!  
**

**Oh, by the way, I GOT RUNE FACTORY FRONTIER! WEWT WEWT WEWT WEWT! Lara is so pretty! And Bianca and Tabatha are so funny! Bianca's bitchy-ness is so amplified! I love RFF!**

**And Lute is so friggin' _SEXY_, it hurts.**

**(You hear, bestest buddy? YOU HEAR? HE IS SO SEXY AND HOT! EAT IT! No, wait. He's all mine, so I get to eat him up. Yum~!)**

**---**

_Tomorrow is the Moonlit Eve!  
Take a special somebody with you to the top of Clemens Mountain to watch the stars!  
Enjoy the Festival~!  
-Mayor Godwin._

I sighed and looked at the note that my father had left on the table. He must have left it on purpose, just to give me 'hints' about it. I sighed again, picked my bag and left the house, heading over to the Library. Did he not guess that Raguna had already asked me, and that I had accepted?

As I walked to the path leading to his house, I remembered what had happened during the Harvest Festival and I blushed slightly. Of course we had kissed more than that one time, but every time made me blush like the first time. I stopped to see one of the trees along the way.

Today was Moonlit Eve, one of the more 'romantic' festivals we had. The stars actually shone brighter than usual, according to all the elders of the town. They also said that the top of Clemens mountain was the best place to propose to a girl. I blushed again.

I went over to the Library, and walked in quietly. Tori and Russell hated it when somebody opened the door with a bang, so, obviously, they hated Bianca.

"Good Morning!" called Russell.

"G-good M-morning, Felicity…" whispered Tori timidly. I saw a cloud of dust rise from the ground of the library, where they had thrown books on. I looked around, gulping down the coughs coming into my throat.

"It's quite dusty, I'm sorry." coughed Russell. I waved his apology away and went to Tori's side. I saw the amount of books she had to shift, and I decided to help her.

"Here, let me help…" I said, stretching out my hand.

"Th-thank you…" she said, and began piling books onto a table in a stack. She put about twenty books in a few seconds, and then told me to carry in and put it on the other table. I nodded, and cracked my knuckles.

I slid my hands under the pile of books, and tried to lift them up. I grunted as I lifted the stack of books. My body felt very unstable, and I swayed slightly. I staggered over to the table, when something collapsed inside me, and I sank to my knees, coughing. The pile of books collapsed on my head, as my head began to lose itself, the world spun on two axes, I heard Tori saying something, and then I felt water running down my throat. The images before my eyes sharpened, and I saw Tori with an empty glass in her hands, and Russell was behind her, his eyes sharp and calculating.

"F-Felicity, are you o-okay?" she asked, her blue eyes full of concern.

"Y-Yes…" I choked, my voice hoarse. The worried look did not leave her face, so I stood up shakily and held onto the desk, smiling at her.

"See? I'm fine." I said, clearing my throat. She pulled me onto the chair. I sat down, a tiny tickle in my throat. That's when Russell opened his big, fat mouth.

"Hey, I think your illness might be hereditary. Your father has a slight asthmatic problem, a back problem, and then there's you, his daughter. This mystery illness must be some virus from your father and your mother, combined to form some new, wicked disease. I wonder...hey Felicity, what problem did your mother have before she died? Felicity?" It was too late, because I had already left the Library, shutting the door with the hardest bang as possible. You, Russell, die a _very _painful death.

I ran as fast as I could, to my house and it's privacy from everybody. My body flailed with coughs as I ran. When I threw open the door, I saw Lara inside, looking around for me. She saw tears on my face, and came close to me anxiously. I flung my arms around her and sobbed my heart out on her shoulder.

Curse you. Curse you. Curse you, you stupid disease. Why am I cursed with you? Did I do something wrong? Why are you taunting me like this, not letting me to play, to walk, to talk or to love?

To love.

No.

Please, no.

No, I don't deserve this! No! I-I...no! I cannot give up my love because of you! Just because you prevent _me _from joy, it does not mean that you prevent my lover to have happiness! Is it so bad to love? Do you hate it? My lover loves me, and I love him as well! With my entire heart! You cannot do this to me! I will live my entire life with him! I will make love with him! I will bear his children! I will not let you hurt him, or his children which I will bear!

_Your illness might be hereditary._

Russell's words ran through my head in a heart stopping moment. Will it taint our love? Will I never be able to love him? Am I to bear this life forever?

All this while, Lara, my best friend in the entire world, had been comforting me. She patted my head when I looked up at her.

"Come on, stop it. Don't be silly," she smiled and I gave a watery grin at her. "Need I remind you that you have a date now? With your Prince Charming?"

"I-I..." I began hesitantly. "...don't want to go." I saw Lara's eyes fill with anger, her indeterminable and unforeseeable anger.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE AND ACCEPT HIS PROPOSAL ALREADY! I REALLY HATE SLOW-MOVING LOVE STORIES!" she screamed, and literally kicked me out of the house. Which obviously forced me to go to Clemens Mountain. Damn it.

Oh heavenly father, please help me in my time of need...

~*~

I waited for her at the top of Clemens mountain, and waited for her to come here. I touched the ring in my pocket, the one I had made. This was it. It was either now, or never. If she accepted, it would be a dream come true for me. If not...well, let's not go there. I just hoped with my entire heart that she would accept.

Because my life is imperfect without her. It is not complete. I needed her, because I love her. Without her, I would melt into this eternal darkness called life. She was the food for my stomach, the water for my mouth and all the shelter I need. Just Felicity and I, now that's happiness. To let my fingers travel through her soft brown hair and stare into her green eyes...and then to press my lips on hers would be my...my...paradise.

Soft footsteps approached. I whipped around to face her. She did not like her usual bubbly self. Instead, she looked worn, tired, sad and like she had been crying all this while. Her eyes were stuck on the floor, and her aura was filled with sadness, despair, sorrow and fear. I took her hand, wanting to comfort her, wanting to banish away those tears which tainted her pretty face.

The moment I touched her hand, she flinched and turned away from me. She pulled her hand away from my grasp, her eyes filled with tears, and she seemed to be deserting herself from me. Why was she acting like this? Was something wrong?

"Feli?" I said, as gently as possible. "Is something wrong?" She turned her worried green eyes to me, and I saw all the grief and pain double in them. But she still said she was fine, and I knew she was lying. I caught her arm and pulled her towards me, and gave her a solid kiss on her mouth.

I let my tongue into her mouth and held her close to me, letting my love flow through that kiss. I saw tears fall from her cheeks as she returned my kiss with some sort of...desperation. She wrapped her arms around my head and pulled it close to her. I felt her tears brush my cheek. She then gave a sob in my mouth, and let go. Her tears-the rain of sadness from her eyes-fell onto the ground beside us, and she held me close by grabbing my collar. The sobs she uttered into my chest made her frail body buckle, so I had to hold her up. I patted the back of her head and whispered all the words of comfort I knew into her ear. Her sobbing did not stop, instead, it came out of her mouth harder and with more grief.

Time passed slowly, with no music, none of nature's faint melodies or civilization's harsh songs. Just me, Felicity and her sadness. Her sobs quietened down slowly, and I lead her to a place concealed with trees. Nobody should witness her sadness. I made her sit down, and I sat next to her and wrapped my arms around her. She buried her face in my shirt again, and she let her last few tears drip into my chest.

"Felicity," I said softly. "Is something wrong? Did somebody hurt your feelings again?"

There was a long silence.

I then realized something was wrong. She was hiding something from me.

"Felicity, what are you hiding?" I asked her. She did not say anything. Another silence followed, much more painful than ever. I felt her tears fall onto my shirt again. She choked out something.

"What was that?"

"I-I love you, Raguna. I love you more than my own life. More than my friends, my family and...and anybody in this world." she whispered.

"I love you too, Felicity," I said. This was the time. I reached for the ring I had made-a silver ring with a tiny diamond on it. "That's why...I...I got you this ring. To propose to you." Her grief-stricken eyes looked up at my face. I kissed her gently.

"Felicity, will you marry me?"

There was a silence again.

It was broken by her sobs. They had returned to their original misery. They were not the tears of happiness she had cried when I told her of my love, but the sad ones from her horrible encounter with Lukas. Even worse. They were like a mourner of a friend at his best friend's funeral. No, they were much worse than that. Much worse, because they were from her, my lover, my sweetheart.

All the hope and happiness which had grown inside me before was now worn and withered. The possibility of her accepting my proposal was gone. The faint hope which lingered did not leave, though. Maybe she was sad because she would leave her father forever? Was that it?

"I-I'm sorry, Raguna," she said hoarsely. "I-I can't accept."

I felt my heart shatter.

She stood up, and tried to run away. I stood up, caught her arm, and she whimpered in fear. She tried to pull away, but she had no chance. I felt anger well up in my heart.

"Why." I said, my voice trembling with anger and sorrow. She stopped trying to escape.

"Let me go."

"No."

"Let me go."

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"B-Because I...I am not worthy for you'" she whispered softly. "There are many other beautiful girls in our town. Please, go live with them and not me. I am not worth it."

"Felicity, you are very much worthy for me as I am for you," I said. "Who was the one who almost killed herself while trying to protect me? Who was the one who I had a crush on since I saw first? Who was the one, out of the ten or so odd girls in our town, that I confessed my love to?Who was the one who I kissed?" When I got no reply from her, I shouted, "Who was it?!"

She flinched and cowered away from me. "It was...m-me." she whispered. I nodded and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at my face and not the ground.

"Then?" I demanded. "Why? What is your reason for your refusal?" Her lips trembled fearfully.

"M-my illness," she whispered. I felt the remaining pieces left in my heart being pounded into dust. "If I marry you, what are the odds that I might affect you? Or anybody else?" My hand went limp. She snatched her hand back and ran away. I could not move. I fell onto my knees, and put my hand down on the ground before me. Why? Why was it me? Did I do some evil deed which forced her to behave like this? Why? My tears fell onto the sandy ground at my knees, uncontrollable, unhappy, and intolerable.

"Why?!" I screamed out to the sky in despair.

**Yeah...that's it. So sad, no? And don't worry, next update is on the SEVENTH OF APRIL. I repeat, Seventh of April. Thank you.**

**If you wanna know what happens after this, you gotta do one thing...that's right...review please! Bio and geog on Monday~ Best of luck to me~! ****Bye~! **

**~LL.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from this story. Not one, how sad...only the plot.  
**

**Jeez, LoRF, I thought we already had this conversation. LUTE IS WAY MORE SEXY! At least, he is to me. Likewise, IKE IS WAY MORE SEXY to you. Now can we _please _stop fighting? Thanks.  
**

**Umm...watch out. Kinda intense scenes on the way. Sorry, man.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Regret.**

You might be wondering why I was marching up and down my room at ten-thirty in the evening, the day after Moonlit Eve. Well, there were a few reasons.

One, because I had refused Raguna's proposal.

Two, he was most probably _very _mad at me.

Thirdly and lastly, that one emotion was making me feel like this.

Regret.

Not only because I had refused his proposal, but because I had broken his heart. I had broken my dearest lover's heart. I had shattered it into tiny pieces and had pounded whatever was left into bits. He must be agonized, and he must hate me. Even though we had spent so much of time together, he still hated me. But I did not stop him. I was a monster, a monster which he has befriended with his love, and I had killed my master. I was horrible. I was a witch. And a first-class _bitch_.

I marched around, pacing up and down my tiny room, cursing myself and yelling at myself internally.

_Why, why, why? Why did I do such a thing?_

_Because I cared for his health._

_But what if he hates me?_

_Then I'll just watch over him from afar._

_A lot of watching you could do, with that damned illness around all the time..._

_I don't care. I love him, so I'll protect him even if the Grimoire stands in front of me. I have to make up with him._

_Best of luck. His anger is worse than the Grimoire. You saw how he was with Lukas around._

_Then I will welcome the first obstacle with open arms. And you, Missy, are not leaving me. Move it. Let's go._

_Oh heavenly father, ple-_

_OH, SHUT UP!_

_Right. To his house we go._

And that's how I found myself walking towards his now-impressive looking house.

It was evening. My mind flashed with all the evenings we had spent together, with him talking to me, whispering sweet nothings into my ear. Will I be able to experience that ever again? The evening sky made the entire ambiance fearful, and I mimicked this emotion as I walked down the well-trodden path towards his house. Will he forgive me?

_No._

_I told you to SHUT UP!_

_Okay. Then why am I coming?_

_SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP._

_Oooooh, someones pissed._

_Do you _want _me to kill you?_

_Okay, I'm shutting up._

"Good." I murmured to myself. Then I shook my head. I was hearing voices in my head. I was definitely losing it.

_Okay, you're dead._

_Nooooo-_

_Bye._

I saw his house, and I saw a light in his window. He was home. Good. Now I had to muster up enough courage to ask him, and not cry. I timidly knocked on his door. I waited for him to open it. Instead, I heard his sweet voice telling me to come in. I slowly opened the door and shut it behind me. I saw him working in his kitchen. I smelt...I smelt...eggplant curd. I love eggplant curd. Why was he making my favorite dish?

He looked up for a second, his face in a half-way smile and when he saw me, all expression in his face faded, only to be replaced with fearsome ones. There was anger, distrust, loathing, sorrow and one more, unfathomable expression. I felt my heart lurch painfully again. He turned back to his cooking, and I groaned internally as my heart rammed itself into one of my bones. At least, that's how it felt.

He finished and threw a hand towel that he had been holding onto the counter. I spoke up.

"R-Ragu," I said, touching his forearm. He pulled it out of my touch. My heart body slammed my ribs again. I tried not to let tears come into my eyes.

"Don't touch me," he spat. "You illness will kill me."

So that's why he hated me. That's why he was acting like this. He was angry at my illness, thereby angry at me. I felt my heart rip itself on my ribs. I spoke up again, my voice slightly thick and a few tears in my eyes.

"D-do you hate me?" I whispered. He glared at me, shook his head exasperatedly and turned away. I piped up again. "Raguna, please stop. I-I came to apologize." I said. He did not reply, neither did he turn around. But he did not walk away, and I took that was a good sign to continue.

"Please understand," I said softly. "I don't want you to be affected by my illness. Since you wanted to start a family with me, I refused. My illness is, most probably, hereditary. I did not want to affect you or...or the...the child." I finished, feeling a tiny blush creep up my cheeks.

"Yes," he spat again. "Such is the self-sacrificial love of a mother."

"Raguna..." I groaned in despair, and he whipped around to face me.

"If you care for me so much, then why didn't you accept my proposal? Is it that bad to love me?" he demanded angrily. I flinched from the anger in his voice.

"No," I whispered. "No."

"Then why? Why? Why did you do such a thing to me?" his blue eyes seemed to be overflowing with anger. For some strange reason, I felt my anger snap as well.

"Because I care about you!" I said, raising my voice.

"Then prove it! I-" He was cut off, because I grabbed his collar and smacked my lips onto his.

I let my tongue do the talking for me. I snaked it into his mouth, and kissed him with as much emotion as possible. One of my hands was on his collar, and the other was on the back of his head, pulling him closer to me. I let all the emotions that had welled up in my heart-Sorrow, Guilt, Regret, Fear, Dismay, Betrayal, and never-ending Love- flow through that kiss. We twirled around a little, then suddenly, he returned my kiss with as much emotion in it as I had put in it. He kissed me so intensely that I was pushed backwards-back and back and back-until the back of my knees crashed into his bed, and I sat on his double bed with a painful plop. He stooped slightly, his knees hit the wood beside mine, and his kiss pushed me farther on the bed. I let go of his head and put the hand on the bed behind me, to steady myself. He continued to kiss me fiercely, and so did I. I pulled off his brown, armor-like protection for his shirt, and removed one button as he tugged at the edges of my skirt.

We were so close-a segment of your finger's length-to making love, when we were interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Raguna?" It was my father. _Wonderful_. Raguna let go of my lips and stared at me. He continued to stare at me as he replied to my father.

"Yes, sir?" he said.

"Is Felicity there with you?" called my father.

"No, sir." He's got such pretty blue eyes...

"Can I come in?"

"Sorry sir, I'm changing now. I just came from a bath. I, uh...forgot to take fresh clothes to the bathhouse." The lie just flowed from his lips easily, as if he had always planned it.

"Ah." I could imagine my father's expression. "Sorry son; I'll see you later, and if you see Felicity, tell her that she needs to get home, okay?"

"Of course, sir."

I heard my father's footsteps drift away. During the entire conversation, Raguna had not removed his eyes off mine. I stared into his deep blue pools of eyes, and he just stared back. He began to pull away slowly.

"N-no!" I cried, catching his collar again. "R-Raguna, d-do you forgive me?" He stared at me for a moment.

Then he kissed me gently, and I could feel his love seep through that kiss. I then knew his answer: yes. I was forgiven. I was a forgiven person, even after all the thought of being killed. I relaxed into his kiss. He let go after a second, and then I saw that his playfulness had returned into his eyes. I felt happiness wash over my torn heart, and it healed into a whole again. He caught my chin.

"You thought I would hate you?" he teased. "You thought I would break up with you?" I smiled at him, and he turned serious. "Felicity, you know I love you. And I will do anything to make you mine, even if I have to fight all four legendary dragons and get a cure for you," he said softly. "So you just wait. You'll be fine in no time at all. Then I _will _marry you." I nodded, tears tainting my vision. I buried my head in his chest, and he patted my head.

I finally felt the feeling I always wanted: Content.

**Aww?**

**But really. You bad children. Trying to do _it_, are you? And this, after a long time, is a chapter dedicated to one POV. Yays~  
**

**And yes, I said that I'd update on the seventh. But tomorrow I have my Art exam, and after that I have my English Language exam, which I will, most probably, rock, because hey, I write stories. I have nothing to study for~ I will then be going to my friend's for a sleepover, so you can expect the next update on Monday. Maybe. Underline that. Maybe.**

**Spirit? andriy? Where are you two? Guys? Are you alive? Please answer me!**

**I miss my two most dedicated reviewers...but you guys, please review, okay? Make them feel bad. Heeheehee~  
**

**~LL.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. :(**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Library.**

Definitely, positively, absolutely. I hate the Library. Especially after what had happened to Felicity. I hated the Library because of Russell. So I went there when he was out, and, of course, I got stuck with Tori.

Ugh.

I hate librarians.

The minute I walk in, she begins to stutter and mutter and act like an innocent little girl, but honestly, I know what's going on in her little perverted head. Zavier is a good friend of mine, and he tells me all about this dangerous girl. And I am, most definitely, staying away from her.

"Wh-why, hello, Raguna! Wh-what brings you here t-t-today?" she stammered. I forced a smile at her.

"I need to get a few books," I said, taking a tiny step away from her. "I think I'll find the books I need over there." I said, pointing over to a distant bookshelf. I ran over there, and searched around for medical books.

"Wh-what are you looking for?" I nearly jumped out of my skin at Tori's soft voice.

"M-medical books!" I said, frightened. She began pulling out a few books, and she created a nice pile in front of me.

"There isn't many medical books...Doctor complains a lot because of that...so does Lara..." I glanced at the twenty or so books. Isn't this enough reading for a lifetime? I thanked Tori and began to read, wishing that she would direct her blue gaze somewhere else.

_The type of bone cells found in a diseased patient is..._

_Many times, when to child is affected which Marasmus, the growth is retarded and requires..._

_Rabies was once a fatal disease, had it not been for..._

_The type of germinal epithelium present in women are..._

_For many cancer patients, the only possibility of survival is if they fight for their..._

The book fell out of my hands, and my head hit the table. I felt my eyes close, and I felt sleep overtake my senses.

When I woke up, I saw that it was dark, and that the Library was almost near closing time. I heard Ceci and Nicholas playing nearby. Looking at the books I had to read, I decided to give it up for the night, and I went over to where the children were playing. I saw Ceci looking at a book fearfully, and I saw Nick peeking into it cautiously.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" I called, walking over to them. They jumped a mile.

"Raguna!" they cried, running over to me. They thrust a book in my hands. "Read it!"

"Why...?" I asked, looking at the book carefully. They backed away slightly.

"It's a very scary book..." said Ceci.

"Or so she says it is..." said Nicholas fearfully. "Could you please read it, Raguna? You are very brave. You beat a big Chimera! And you're not afraid of anything! Go Raguna!" I smiled at the two tiny children, and I opened the book and began to read.

_There is a round stone in this world, which brings misery to it's holder._  
_This stone cannot be told apart from a normal stone, making it very dangerous._

"Oh." I said.

"Scary, right?" said Ceci. "When I read this, I threw all of my stones away! Or...maybe...did I give them all to Felicity? Oh well." Ceci gave a tiny laugh. I stared at the book, then to Ceci, then to the book again and read the story once more, just to be sure.

Round Rock in this world.

Misery to holder.

Can't be told apart.

Very dangerous.

Given to Felicity.

_My _Felicity.

Oh holy shit.

I dropped the book and ran-ran as fast as I could-over to Felicity's house. I barged inside, and I saw Doc and Mayor Godwin busy chatting with each other. They stared at me curiously as I barged in. I felt an idea light up in my head-maybe Doc would know if the stone was cursed or not? I quickly told the story over to him, and I saw both his and Godwin's eyes widen with surprise.

"So please, please, could I just ask Felicity to give me the stone?" I pleaded. "Please?" Godwin nodded, and Doc pulled out his kit from somewhere in his coat. I don't understand how such a huge kit fits in a tiny coat like his. Ah, whatever. I need to get Feli. I ran up the stair and knocked on her room's door. I heard her feeble voice calling out to me.

"Yes?" she called, and I went in. I saw her drawing something on a drawing pad. I went up to her and peeked to see what she was drawing. I saw that she was drawing a cherry blossom. I patted her head, and then got onto the topic as fast as possible.

"Listen, Felicity," I said urgently. She heard the urgency in my voice and looked up anxiously. "Where was that stone which Ceci gave you?"

"Um..." she went over to her desk and pulled out the tiny stone from it's depths. She gave it to me, and I held it carefully. "Why do you want it?"

"Because..." I stared into her deep green eyes, and I found myself tongue-tied. I have to complete my sentence, however. I took a deep breath. "Because I think it is the cause of your illness."

There was a silence. I could see her steering herself to speak.

"And...a-and what are the grounds of your theory?" she asked, her tone formal, her word carefully chosen. I explained the 'grounds of my theory' to her, and her green eyes widened. She swayed a bit, before grabbing my hand and running outside with me. I picked her up in one swift movement and ran over to the room where Doc and Godwin were. They looked at us queerly as I placed Felicity on the couch, and handed the stone to Doc. He took it in his hands, and then literally threw it on the table.

"Such...such a strong evil aura..." he said, and we looked at the innocent-looking stone on the table. Our gazed shifted to Felicity, whose hands were on her mouth, and it looked as though she was going to cry. I patted the top of her head, as we all tried to regain our composure.

"W-well, I will dispose of this in the right way..." said Doc. "Felicity will be fine now, please don't worry. I will be taking your leave now, if you will excuse me..." he went out.

Another silence. More painful this time. Felicity's head dropped into her hands, and I could hear her sob into her hands. Her father rubbed her back comfortingly, and I squeezed her hand.

"An entire year..." she sobbed. "An entire year of misery because of some stupid rock?!" Her head came up from her hands, and no tears were found on her cheeks. Instead, an unusual anger had filled her usually-calm aura. "I am going to kill that kid!"

"Hey, wait, no, you can't do that!" I cried. She glared at me.

"Oh, shut up, mister. I am so going to-" Godwin cleared his throat.

"Well, will this conversation go somewhere else except for my study?" We nodded, and went up to her room. She sat down on her bed, and began to scribble furiously in her drawing book. She showed me the drawing she had done, and I shuddered at it's violence. I guess every girl cannot be frills-and-lace, now can they?

"Felicity," I said, taking her hand. "I know you are going to get better, but please, could you please not strain yourself much? I-I guess, this is my turn to say it now...Felicity, I care about you. So please don't strain yourself." Felicity's face broke into a blush and a smile, and she hugged me.

"I'll do anything for you, my Raguna.'

**I get really cheesey, don't I? Anyhoo, chapter...fifteen, a short drabble which sucks balls. And another single POV dedicated story. Sorry. Anyhoo, listen to me rant.**

**I. Hate. CSK. I hate them. HOW DARE THEY SAY THAT _MATHEW HAYDEN _WILL HAVE TO QUIT IF HE DOES A MISTAKE IN THIS TIMES IPL MATCH? HAVE YOU SEEN SURESH RAINA?! HE SUCKS! AND HERE THEY SAY ****_MATHEW _****HAS TO GO! AND SOME RANDOM BULSHIT ABOUT DOCUMENTS...ARGH! CSK, IF _MATHEW _GOES, YOU MUST LOSE THE IPL! LOOOOOOOOOOSE!**

**Sorry. Late update, whatever. I am tired. Another three more chapters to go, including epilogue. Whew, it's finally ending. I can now relaaaax. What a stressful series. Hah...but don't worry, I love this pairing. Chill. I don't hate it. How could I?  
**

**~LL.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Absolutely nothing.**

**ALMOST DONE. Just a little more. This chapter, one more, epilogue, and OVER.**

**SCHOOLS OUT~! Expect more updates from now on~! ...what's the point? We're almost done anyway.  
**

It had been exactly one day since I had cured her. I was working in my field. It was nearly the end of winter, and I was cutting down all of the crops which would not be ready by the end of Autumn. My sickle was swishing wildly across the grass. With every stroke, I was thinking of every episode which Felicity and I had experienced.

The time I first saw her.

The time I kissed her on her cheek.

The time she told me she cared about me.

The time she had confined her sorrow to me.

The fun we had at the Spring Festival.

The time she had come to my farm and helped me work on it.

The time the Rune had nearly killed her.

The time I had smacked Lukas for hitting on her.

The time I had confessed my love for her.

The time I had kissed her properly.

The time at Moonlit Eve.

The time we nearly...ah.

The time at the Library, and how I had cured her.

And now, with me reminiscing about our happiness.

She was cured now, and I want to marry her, knowing that there will be nothing in between us, now that the illness has gone. I just don't know if I should just tell her, or if I should wait for sometime. Either way, I want to show her the surprise I had made for her.

I love her.

I do.

I just want to make her mine, but my heart tells me to wait. Is it so wrong to do so? Will she tell me to wait? Am I to endure such a long time to be away from her?

My thoughts were interrupted by her arrival. She was running down he path which lead to my house. Her long brown hair was bobbing up and down with her running. Her green eyes were shining with happiness, and her face was full of color. It did not look sickly anymore. No bags under her eyes, no exhausted walk, no sad aura.

"Raguna!" she cried. "I'm okay now! Look! I can run!"

She was cured.

I threw my sickle on the ground, and opened my arms wide, feeling a smile spread on my lips. She jumped into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her up, her head a bit higher than mine. I looked up to see her happy face. She was smiling and laughing, her face made of pure joy. She leaned down and kissed me, and I felt the same joy in her body flow through me. I let her go, and she slid to the floor. She smiled at me, her face nearly bursting with joy.

"Are you happy?" she asked a little breathlessly. I nodded, and she laughed again. She twirled around in my field, as happy as one could be. I went up to her and caught her by the waist, making her stop dancing around like a drunk.

"Come with me," I said, and I took her hands. "I want to show you something."

I took her across the little bridge to the west of my house and then I went towards Clemens Mountain. We squeezed through a few trees on the bottom of the mountain, and I took her to my secret field. When she saw what was in it, she gasped.

The field was full of Charm Blues.

She looked at the field, and her hands covered her mouth. She looked at me with shocked eyes, because the field had a post dug onto the ground saying, 'This is for you, Felicity.' She smiled at me and kissed me again, and I reached for my pocket and pulled out a ring. The very same ring that I had forged for her. I fell to my knees, and gave it to her.

"Felicity, will you marry me?" Her eyes filled with happiness, and she smiled at me playfully.

"Are you glad I'm finally going to accept?" she said, and I grinned back at her. I slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her. "Why don't we do this properly?" she smiled again, and I nodded. I fell on my knees, _again_. Owch.

"Felicity, wilt thou be my bride? My joy, my happiness and my-" she cut across me.

"Oh, please stop. Just...just...argh." I laughed and so did she, and our lips met again. This time, it wasn't wrong. It felt and was very, very right.

**Yays~! They are going to get married now~! Okay, I'll admit this. My character proposed to Felicity before curing her illness. What he did was he spoke to her in the park, but she didn't say anything special. Thus inspired the previous chapters. Yays~!**

**See you soon guys~! I just might update the next chappie today itself, because, hey, SCHOOLS OUT~~~~!!**

**Review people~!**

**~LL.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: EVEN THOUGH this is one of my last chapters, I don't own anything in it. Aw, god dammit.**

**I hope you like this tiny, drabble-ish chapter. BTW, this chapter starts out with a swear. Brace yourselves~!**

**Chapter Seventeen: Marriage Time!  
**

"Aw, fuck man! Where's your tie?" yelled Camus from downstairs.

"Camus, I can very well hear you! Don't swear!" I shouted to the bedroom door.

"S-sorry, Lara!" he cried back. I shook my head and continued to do up Felicity's hair, while Tabatha worked on her dress, and Bianca 'looked over' us, as in to say, criticized us, as usual. Bianca turned to the door and shouted, "It's in the box!"

"Which box?"

"The big-" There was a loud crash.

"_FUCK!_"

"Camus!"

"Sorry!"

"Saying sorry will not help you!"

"Sorry, Lara!"

"Oh, shush." I snapped, and continued my work. Not a single human voice came from the other room. Suddenly, Ivan's voice came out from the door.

"Okay, we're taking him to the Church, okay?"

"Sure!" called Bianca. We heard shuffling of feet, the slamming of Camus' door, and then a silence. Felicity suddenly began to talk very fast.

"I-I can't believe we're getting married! I mean, isn't it wonderful!" she then stopped, realization dawning on her face."I-I didn't mean it that way, guys, I'm sorry..."

"Felicity, you have nothing to apologize for." said Tabatha, pulling the strings of Felicity's dress hard. Felicity's eyes bulged with the lack of air.

"What...do...you...mean...?" she asked, her voice constricted. Tabatha loosened the strings, as Bianca continued the story.

"The minute we knew that Raguna was yours, we caught somebody else."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Felicity, turning her head to one side in confusion. Bianca giggled and elaborated.

"When we realized there was no way of charming Raguna to us-" she giggled again. "-we got...someone else."

"Really?" Felicity sounded very surprised. "How come I don't know anything of this?"

"You were too caught up with your 'Raguna affairs' that you forgot about us, you evil chick," I said, adding her traditional rose to her hair. "There. I'm done."

"Nice work, Lara!" she cried, looking at the mirror. "And don't call me evil," We laughed. She turned serious. "Okay, who did you find?"

"Looks like you're done!" said Tabatha happily.

"W-wait-"

"Perfect job, Tabatha and Lara," said Bianca. "And that, coming from me, is a big thing."

"We know," I said, pushing Felicity outside the room. "Move it, wifey, you have a marriage to experience."

"W-wait! You didn't finish-" We shushed her, and we told her to wait for the cue. Bianca, Tabatha and I went into the Church; they sat down in the front while I went to the organ. I saw my notes arranged neatly in front of me. I turned to Camus, to only person who would have done this, and glared at him. He mouthed the word 'sorry', and I continued to glare at him, before turning back to the organ. I began to play to slow wedding march.

The doors opened majestically by Russell and Zavier, and Felicity walked inside. She was wearing a beautiful white dress, with bits of red lace here and there, and her long brown hair was tied in such a way that only some of it was tied an the rest was free. It flowed to her ankles freely, and her face was a little pink. Rosetta, Lukas, Camus, Nicholas and Cecilia cheered as she walked in, and her face broke into a smile. She held that smile until she reached the altar, and when she saw her future husband, her lips seemed to smile some more. Raguna was wearing a black tuxedo. She gave him her hand, and they held hands and faced my father.

Oh, the amount of Love which flowed from those two almost made we wince. They had very powerful vibes, and it made we want to sit somewhere else, somewhere where the vibes wouldn't hit me. But I couldn't do that, now could I?

No wonder they were perfect for each other. My 'vibes' have not been functioning properly for the past few months. My father cleared his throat, and then began to say the rites. He went on for a few minutes, before getting to the good and important part.

"Do you, Raguna, take Felicity to have and to hold, in sickness and health, till death do you part?"

"Yes, I do," he said, smiling broadly.

"And do you, Felicity, take Raguna to have and to hold, in sickness and health, till death do you part?"

"Yes, I do," her face was shining with happiness.

"Very well," said my father. "You may kiss the bride."

Raguna turned to Felicity, and then planted a nice, solid kiss on her mouth, before they both blushed and looked at my father.

My father continued, "By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Bianca, Tabatha and I ran up to Fel-them, they were a couple now, and congratulated them, as the other villagers walked up. Felicity's father was the first.

"Now go spice up this village with Raguna, Felicity!" he said, trying to hide the tears in his eyes.

"Yes, Dad, I will!" she said, giving him a big bear hug.

The rest of the villagers walked up and congratulated Felicity. But the worst was Doc, who I _think _was drunk.

"When are we going to expect the baby~?" he said, and both Camus and I whacked him and told him to move.

We all took the two outside, and Felicity flung the bouquet up in the air. I turned from my yelling at Doc with Camus to find it heading straight for me. I caught it, and Felicity, Bianca, Tabatha, Lukas and Zavier hooted, while I felt my face grow hot and felt Camus' arm around me. Then Raguna spoke up, and we all fell silent.

"Thank you everybody, for coming here today."

"We're going to be so happy...now that we're married!" said Felicity. Suddenly, Raguna picked her up and ran to his house, leaving us in shock.

"H-hang on..." I said.

"H-hey..." said Tabatha.

"Oy! Wait up, you two!" yelled Bianca, causing the entire village to collapse in laughter.

**A/N: Yup, that's it. The last 'chapter' of Another Love Story. Just the epilogue, and we are done. About the 'LaraxCamus' thing...I was never a fan of MelodyxCamus, and LaraxCamus is just so, to quote by Lara, 'vibes-ey'! Next chapter update...maybe today itself again. BTW, the next chapter will be/maybe short, but it will have a huge A/N in the end, so...**

**Review~ Even though it's the last chapter.**

**Bye~**

**~LL.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own anything from this chapter, my epilogue. DAMMIT, Man, not even my last chapter? ;__;  
**

**Epilogue: Not Just Another Love Story.  
**

I had been five years since the day Raguna and I had gotten married. We are living a perfect life, totally perfect. We have a child named Leona, and she has brown hair like her parents. But her eyes have taken after her father, a deep shade of blue they are. She is hyperactive, and loves sweet things. Raguna's farm is going on well. We are quite wealthy, and we have a much bigger house than usual, competing with my old house. Nothing can beat Bianca's mansion, now can it?

The village of Kardia is going smoothly. Even after the Grimoire scare, we have been able to hide our fear and stay strong. All thanks to my Raguna, our town is safe. And Terrable, of course.

Right now, it is the middle of Autumn, where the weather is kind and scenery is beautiful. We are outside on Raguna's farm, and I was overseeing what Leona is doing with her father. Leona is trying to carry a small watering can, and Raguna is breaking a stump. Loud calls of my name make me look away from my family, and to the entrance of the farm. I see Lara, Camus, Bianca, Tabatha, Zavier, Mist, Lukas and Rosetta walking towards us. I smile and wave to them.

Lara and Camus are married. Event though they were childhood friends, it is a mystery as to how Camus got over his crush over Melody and fell for Lara. Either way, they are a cute couple; they had gotten married last winter. Zavier and Mist are married as well. Not surprising, judging by both of their obsessions over each other. Mist was going to have a child soon. Lukas and Rosetta are engaged. I am glad; because I know Rosetta will whip him royally if he tries anything wrong. Bianca and Tabatha...well, even though Jasper says he is okay with both of them as a couple, he still looks a bit strained about it. Not that those two care; their love for each other is just too powerful. And isn't there the saying, 'Love is blind'?

Seeing all these couples around me, I now see the number of love stories which happen, even in a small town like mine. Mine was just one more to add to the picture, right?

No, not quite. My love story might just be one more in many, but it is important to both me and my husband. It was not something which was bound to happen. It was something with grew to happen. My life is perfect with him; his life is perfect with me.

It is not, most definitely, another love story.

_Samapth,_  
_Shubum,_  
_or,_  
_The End._

**HUGE A/N: That's it. The End of 'Another Love Story'. It gives me great pleasure in pressing that button from 'In-Progress' to 'Complete'. First things first, I would like to tell you all something.**

**I will not be putting up an sequel to this story. I am sorry, but I really don't want to stress myself out with another long chaptered story for a long, long, long time. I am going to retire into an era of one-shots, in which my goal will be, 'One One-shot every week.' I hope I can live up to it~!  
**

**Now, this story was sometimes fluke-and-use, meaning, I would write something, and it would turn out useful in the ending. Like, for example, how Rosetta liked Raguna, and then Bianca says, 'We caught someone else', Rosetta gets Lukas, right? Well, that was one major fluke. Oh, well. Maybe that's how I roll~! The use of present tense in this last chapter was strange.  
**

**I would like to thank my hands for typing this story fast. I would like to thank my brain for thinking it up. I would like to thank my eyes for not getting any power, while I was on the comp. I would like to thank my mom and my tution teacher, for not making me study 24/7 and letting me go and write this story.**

**And, most importantly, I would like to thank the following people of reviewing:**

**....for being my first ever reviewer, Selphy. Westmile.  
**

**PandoraAceAttorney, for being my second reviewer and for giving me some nice, solid criticism.**

**Mintystar67, for being my third reviewer.**

**AyaC, for urging me to continue with his/her praise.**

**To the anonymous Alice, for encouraging me again.**

**The Legend of Rune Factory, for being a sort of beta, for being my good friend, and for helping me out. Thanks, LoRFy~!**

**To the missing SS-Spirit, for reviewing a lot.**

**And, to my most dedicated reviewer, andriy, thank you so much for reviewing so nicely, for pm-ing me with my mistakes, thank you so much. And, as a present, I will write a Rosetta/Raguna oneshot for you. And, you pm me with a Rosetta/Raguna oneshot request, and I will write that as well for you. Thank you very much, that's the most I can do for your dedication. Oh, and here's a cookie~!  
**

**Well, that's it. Thank you everybody for reading my drabbles, and thank you for putting up with them. I will be seeing you later~!**

**Signing off, with a promise of more oneshots and possible one more long chaptered story,**

**Yours hyper and happy,**

**~LiteracyLover.  
**


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